Ukraine’s air force says fighter jets will not be ready to use this winter; US stae department calls for Putin to return to grain deal
Russia-Ukraine war at a glance
The US has condemned Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure and called for Moscow to return immediately to the grain deal, the state department said on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin does not care about global food security, state department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters after Ukraine earlier on Wednesday said Russia had attacked its grain storage facilities overnight.
Ukraine will not be able to operate US-built F-16 fighter jets this coming autumn and winter, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television late on Wednesday.
“It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” Ihnat told a joint telethon broadcast by Ukrainian channels.
US President Joe Biden endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May but no timing for the supply of war planes has been given so far.
“We had big hopes for this plane, that it will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism,” Ihnat said.