Warsaw made 'positive decision' that will help Kyiv get F-16s faster, Zelensky says

The Polish government made a "positive decision" on July 19 that will help speed up the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said without elaborating.

Zelensky's statement came a day after his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the fourth European Political Community summit in the U.K.

Poland, a member of a fighter jet coalition for Ukraine founded at the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, will not provide F-16s to Kyiv, but promised access to Polish training infrastructure and courses.

"And today, we have a positive decision from the Polish government on a specific issue, which will allow Ukraine to receive F-16 jets sooner," Zelensky wrote on X.

"I am grateful to Prime Minister Tusk for efficiently following up on our previous agreements. I am grateful to Poland for its strong support for Ukraine."

Warsaw has yet to make an official announcement following Zelensky's remarks.

Ukraine is expected to receive at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway, with up to 20 expected to arrive this year.

Kyiv has been calling for these U.S.-made fourth-generation jets since the very first year of the full-scale war in order to bolster its air fleet, which is otherwise made up of Soviet-made aircraft.

Despite promises by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on July 10 that the first Dutch and Danish F-16s are already on their way, no delivery has been confirmed so far.

Although some defense experts do not expect F-16s to become game-changers in the war, the jets may strengthen Ukraine's air defense capabilities and shield the country's population centers from Russia's daily bombardments.

Denmark and the Netherlands indicated that they would allow Ukraine to strike with F-16s inside Russia, although Copenhagen said that such a move would "depend on the circumstances."

Warsaw is considering Kyiv's proposal to shoot down Russian missiles flying toward Polish territory while they are still in Ukraine's airspace, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said earlier in July.

‘It’s been 18 months’ and F-16s have not yet arrived, Zelensky says

Ukraine is yet to receive the first of the pledged F-16 fighter jets, despite waiting for them for year and a half, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the BBC on July 18.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek