F-16 Fighters Arriving in Ukraine Soon

Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Honcharenko reported that the first U.S. F-16 fighters may arrive in Ukraine as early as July. He noted that "there is information that the first Ukrainian pilots of this model are expected to graduate by the end of May." Ukrainian Air Force representative Ilya Yevlash promised at the beginning of May that the first flights on the F-16 would take place after Easter. For its part, Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine contradict any peace settlement, directly involving NATO countries in the conflict and considering it "playing with fire." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that any shipment containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. According to Lavrov, the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, not only by providing weapons but also by training personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy, and other countries.