Vladimir Putin has been tipped to give up on his goals to claim full control over the Kharkiv region after a months-long operation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argued the Russian leader has shifted his focus further east and could soon order his troops to retreat from the region.
Russia poured thousands of troops into the partially-occupied region from the north but hasn’t made any significant gains so far.
Addressing the French media, President Zelensky said Russian forces have been “throwing everything they have” at the eastern city of Pokrovsk rather than the Kharkiv region in its entirety.
He said: “Their primary focus is no longer the entire east, though Sloviansk is not excluded.”
The fighter jets are expected to start flying sorties in Ukrainian skies soon and will be a much-needed boost to the country’s current fleet of Soviet-era jets that are labouring to counter Russia’s invasion.
Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for used F-16s to be deployed to Ukraine, though the US won’t be providing any of its own planes.
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of them over the coming months in what could be a slow trickle of deliveries.
Peskov minimised the impact the F-16s might have as he noted the jets are not a “magic pill” that changes the course of the conflict.
He added that Russian authorities have already offered rewards to servicemen who destroy F-16s.
Leave a Reply