Ukraine does not officially confirm or deny the information that appeared in the Western media about the arrival of the first batch of F-16 fighters in the country.
Mykhailo Podoliak, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President, announced this on July 31 during a telethon.
Asked by journalists to comment on the publication of Bloomberg, he noted the importance of preserving the "fog of war" in this matter.
"I see that this is reflected in the quality of informational speculations. I would like these speculations to be less. After all, it is necessary to pay attention to official comments," Podoliak noted.
He drew attention to the fact that there was no reference to any official source in the publications of the Western media.
"I'm not already talking about the Ukrainian side. We will not comment on this either "yes" or "no". Why? Because for us this is a factor of essential survival, I mean the aviation component. We definitely should not talk now on whether we have them or no,” said the advisor to the head of the the Office of the President.
In addition, Podoliak noted that this "distorts the information space, unfortunately it distorts real expectations, the imagination of what difficulties Ukraine is facing today from the point of view of ensuring this stage of the war."
"Therefore, I simply advise to wait for official confirmation from one side or the other," he said.
Podoliak added that for a long time Ukraine's partners had constantly said that they were "handing us something".
"They don't make such statements today, because they understand that it will be a bit strange. Likewise, Ukraine does not make official statements today if we will receive certain types of weapons. Either the president or the commander-in-chief will comment on it," he said.
According to the adviser to the head of the President's Office, this is a topic where the "fog of war" is very appropriate, because it should be reflected in a certain way on the battlefield.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the Bloomberg agency reported with reference to its own sources that the first batch of F-16 fighter jets had allegedly arrived in Ukraine. Interlocutors of the agency did not specify the number of planes involved. At the same time, they noted that an "insignificant number" of F-16s had flown to Ukraine.
The U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby refused to answer journalists' questions about whether Ukraine actually received the first F-16 fighter jets.
On July 28, The Washington Post reported that the first F-16 aircraft will appear on the territory of Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named the number of F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine needs to counter russia.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.