This week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that for the first time Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets have been engaged in combat against the Russians, and successfully shot down inbound missiles and drones.
"We destroyed already some missiles and drones using the F-16," Zelensky said Tuesday, specifically in comments given in English, before a press briefing - but without providing many details.
The first batch of F-16s donated by European countries, and greenlighted by Washington, only arrived earlier this month; however it's not known precisely how many are now in Ukraine's possession or where they are operating from.
Monday through Tuesday saw one of the largest waves of airstrikes by Russia targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure nationwide.
Despite that Ukraine may at this point be operating a dozen US-made F-16s or more, Russia still managed to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses, targeting 15 out of 24 oblasts - and plunging much of the country into darkness.
But Kiev is claiming that only some 10% of Russian projectiles fired in the Monday large-scale attack hit their targets, out of well over 100 missiles and the same amount of drones fired.
Previously, Russian FM Sergei Lavrov warned that the Kremlin "will regard the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere."
Still, Zelensky is already pushing for more jets in order to defend the skies. The Economist has indicated that ten have so far been delivered, out of a pledged total of 79.
But Zelensky has stated that his armed forces need at least 128 if they hope to successfully take on the well-armed Russians.
Photographs at undisclosed locations of F-16s parked in Ukraine have emerged this month...
The The Wall Street Journal previously indicated that the Pentagon is outfitting Ukraine's jets with air-to-ground AGM-88 HARM missiles, bomb sights, diameter bombs, AMRAAM advanced air-to-air missiles, and AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missiles. All sides keep escalating and the weapons pipeline to Kiev shows no signs of slowing.