Arrival of F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine marks a turning point in fight against Putin and his Su-35 – British ex-Defense Secretary Shapps

Former British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said that the F-16 fighter jets arriving in Ukraine mark a turning point in the fight against russian dictator Vladimir Putin and the russian federation's Su-35 fighter jets.

He wrote about this on the X social network (formerly Twitter), commenting on The Telegraph article, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

Shapps noted that the first group of Ukrainian pilots completed flight training on F-16 fighters in the British Royal Air Force back in March of this year.

"The arrival of the F-16 in Ukraine marks a turning point in the fight against Putin and his Su-35," the former minister wrote.

He added that Britain and its allies should continue to do everything possible to "support Ukraine in its battle for the sky."

Earlier, The Telegraph reported that F-16 fighter jets had finally arrived in Ukraine, "which is a significant boost for Kyiv."

Ukraine is said to have completed its first combat missions with the F-16.

The publication specified, citing a source in the Air Force, that military aircraft have so far been used only for air defense purposes.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on July 31, the Bloomberg agency reported, citing its own sources, that the first batch of F-16 fighter jets from NATO allies had arrived in Ukraine.

At the same time, the interlocutors of the agency noted that a "small number" of F-16s had arrived in Ukraine.