F-16 Jets Arrive in Romania for Ukrainian Training

Facts

• Five F-16 fighter jets from the Dutch Air Force landed in Fetesti, Romania on Tuesday for the training of pilots from Ukraine and NATO countries at the soon-to-open European Training Center. Alongside the Netherlands' F-16 donation, Romania's Ministry of Defense said it will provide 'the 86th Air Base, training facilities and host nation support' with 'Lockheed Martin Company [providing] the instructors and maintenance.'¹
• In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he is 'grateful to the Netherlands and Prime Minister Mark Rutte for leading the way in supporting Ukraine,' adding that he hopes 'to welcome F-16s into Ukrainian skies as soon as possible.'²
• The Netherlands emphasized that the jets would remain in NATO airspace during the Ukrainian pilots' training process. The jets will also remain under Dutch ownership, but this is likely to change once they're sent to the Ukrainian Air Force.³
• On the battlefield, Ukraine is reportedly preparing for a renewed Russian assault on the eastern town of Avdiivka, after several recent unsuccessful attempts by Moscow to surround it. Zelenskyy also said his military had deployed more Western air defense systems in preparation for a second full winter of Russian attacks on energy facilities.⁴
• Meanwhile, Moscow says it damaged Ukrainian troops and military hardware in 105 areas over the past day, including eliminating 160 troops in Kupyansk, wounding roughly 170 in the Krasny Liman area, and destroying around 70 troops, a tank, and an artillery gun in the south Donetsk area. Russia also said its air defense system intercepted two rockets from US-made HIMARS as well as 33 drones.⁵
• This comes as Russia on Tuesday removed itself from the post-Cold War Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, with NATO allies condemning the move as 'the latest in a series of actions that systematically undermines Euro-Atlantic security.' In response, NATO said it would 'suspend the operation' of the treaty for as long as needed.⁶

Sources: ¹Romania Insider, ²Ukrinform, ³AviacionLine, ⁴The Guardian, ⁵TASS and ⁶CNBC.

Narratives

• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT International. While it seems like Moscow and Kyiv are currently at a stalemate in this war, Russia's dominance in the skies has proven not just by destroying enemy military targets but half of Ukraine's energy sector more generally. If things continue this way, Ukrainians will be facing blackouts as the winter approaches. Ukraine is in rough shape and Western meddling — F-16s and otherwise — won't tip the scales.
• Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Kyiv Post. Ukraine's reliance on Western allies is its strength, not a weakness. Allies like the US have so far given Ukraine just enough to keep Russia at bay, which, unfortunately, has given Putin enough leeway to continue meddling in other regions of the world like the Middle East and Asia. If the West dropped all its military aid package conditions — such as Germany's ban on using its weapons to strike Russian soil — Ukraine could defeat Russia once and for all while allowing the West to focus on countering the other global threats posed by the Kremlin.

Predictions