MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. Ukraine will receive American F-16 fighter jets only next spring, Yury Ignat, a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said.

"Certainly, it is already obvious that we will not be able to protect Ukraine with F-16 jets this fall and winter," he said.

Ignat added that the Ukrainian side has high hopes that the delivery of F-16 jets will be able to strengthen the air defense. At the same time, he opined that Ukrainian pilots would soon begin training on this type of aircraft.

On August 4, the Politico newspaper reported that a group of eight Ukrainian pilots had been selected to participate in a Western training program for F-16 pilots. At the same time, the dates for the start of the training were not disclosed. CNN quoted officials in the Washington administration as saying that the US had not received a plan for training the pilots from European countries. Earlier, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said the US intends to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of this year.