Russia rejects the compromise agreement and demands the return of SWIFT in exchange for grain arrangements

NATO recommends not to combine two separate discussions – about the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces and about providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.

This statement was made by the admiral Rob Bauera Dutch officer, chairman of the NATO military committee, on the air of the British radio show LBC Tonight.

Bauer said that providing the Ukrainians with the fighter jets they are asking for “is not going to be resolved in the short term.” That is, according to him, when planning operations during the current counteroffensive, Ukraine should not count on receiving F-16 aircraft.

At the same time, the observer Jimmy Rushton warns: part of the Ukrainian mass media published a “misleading summary of what Bauer said.” It may appear from the publications that a deliberate decision was made not to use the F-16 in Ukraine until the end of the counteroffensive.

But Bauer “didn’t say that,” Rushton emphasizes.

Earlier, the Voice of America also reported that, according to the information of the British ambassador to NATO David Quarry, you should not wait for the F-16 fighter from the nearest summit of the Alliance, which will take place already this month in the capital of Lithuania.

Quarry said: “I’m not sure there will be any new announcements about the F-16 at the Vilnius summit. We strongly applaud the decision of individual allies to participate in this… We all wish it could move faster, but we must recognize that building a combat air force is an incredibly complex operation with a complex logistical tail, taking months to train pilots, prepare to supply and support for such equipment. This is serious long-term work.”

As the New York Times writes, Rob Bauer’s statement “effectively dashes Kyiv’s long-term hopes of using aircraft against Russian forces in the coming months.”

Admiral Bauer, still Ambassador Quarry, explained that the F-16s could not arrive immediately (“although Ukraine’s requests for the aircraft are clear,” he noted) because the Allies would not be able to quickly organize the logistics, training and technical support needed to effectively aircraft operation.

Instead, Ukraine is ready to receive F-16 aircraft, as stated by the spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force Yuriy Ignathas a list of pilots ready to take off for training “as soon as possible”.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba announced the estimated date of receipt of the first F-16 as the beginning of next year.

Great Britain and the Netherlands were among the first countries to insist on the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine, but the administration of Joe Biden must approve any actions regarding them, because they are American-made planes, the NYT reminds. The publication also comments that the F-16 would allow the Ukrainians to deter the Russian Air Force, the Navy, use powerful radars to detect targets on the ground hundreds of miles away, launch weapons at military facilities in Russian-occupied areas, while remaining safe over controlled Ukraine territory

The jets can also be used for air defense, shoot down Russian missiles and drones, and provide cover for Ukrainian ground forces during their counteroffensive.

Admiral Bauer also praised the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their counteroffensive successes on the radio: “I believe that Ukraine has an advantage because it has Western weapon systems, better training and, most importantly, much higher morale and motivation.”

“We know from history that this is an extremely important part of military operations,” Bauer emphasized, reminding that in Ukraine people are fighting “for their own”, this is their existential struggle, Ukrainians understand what they are fighting for, while “the Russians do not the concept of what they are fighting for”.

Earlier, Bauer stressed that this type of operation, such as the Ukrainian counteroffensive, “is extremely difficult” and noted that the Ukrainian military “deserves praise”, Voice of America reported.