NEW YORK, December 28. /TASS/. The first F-16 jet planes promised to Kiev could have already arrived in Ukraine, Newsweek reported citing its source.

According to the source, the probability that the Ukrainian air force already uses these planes is rather high.

Ukraine has been asking its Western partners to hand over F-16 planes for a long time. However, the West underscored that such handover would be impossible without preliminary training of pilots and ground personnel. On Tuesday, the British Ministry of Defense announced that the first Ukrainian pilots have completed their basic training course for F-16 planes, organized by the Royal Air Force.

In late August, the Netherlands stated their readiness to ship 42 US-made F-16 planes to Ukraine, while Denmark promised 19 planes. US authorities approved this step. Kiev expressed its hope that Ukraine will receive the planes in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that it will happen no sooner than next spring.