Officials later confirmed to the Associated Press that some F-16s were indeed in Ukraine.
AdvertisementThis means Ukraine may not use its F-16s for the frontline offensives it would prefer, according to military experts and Ukraine's top general.
Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute who served in Australia's air force, said Ukraine would have to be cautious.
He said its small number of aircraft and few pilots would mean Ukraine has to prioritize avoiding losses, so it can fly the F-16s as long as possible.
Ukraine also faces challenges when it comes to logistics around the F-16s.
Persons:
—, Netherlands —, Peter Layton, Justin Bronk, Gen, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Marina Miron, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Organizations:
Service, Bloomberg, Associated Press, NATO, Business, Times, Griffith Asia Institute, Russian, Royal United Services Institute, Guardian, War Studies Department, King's College London, Department of Defense, Politico, Washington Post, Reagan
Locations:
Ukraine, — Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, London, Russia, Col, Ukrainian