Ukraine’s F-16 Ambitions Snarled by Language Barrier, Runways and Parts
- US, allies pledged US-made fighter jets more than a year ago
- NATO officials cite small number of English-speaking pilots
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This summer, Kyiv will finally get the F-16 fighter jets it’s been insisting it needs to repel Russia — but in far fewer numbers than it had hoped.
The move to send warplanes — a much hyped element of this week’s NATO summit in Washington — has been bedeviled by delays, questions around spare parts, and a language barrier between Ukrainian pilots and their foreign trainers, according to people familiar with the matter. Planners also worry that the country doesn’t have enough runways — and those it does have are vulnerable to Russian attacks.