Poland has necessary conditions to service all Ukrainian F-16s - expert

Jarosław Kraszewski, former commander of missile forces and artillery of the Ground Forces of the Polish Armed Forces, and now chairman of the board of the private defense holding RBL, said this in a comment to Ukrinform, commenting on the message of the President of Ukraine about the positive decision of the Polish government, which will allow Ukraine to receive F-16 aircraft as soon as possible.

 "Poland's assistance will consist of certain processes of preparing these aircraft so that they can operate in the Ukrainian theater of operations. They will fly to Poland, where they will be thoroughly serviced and refueled. Ukrainian pilots will also arrive in Poland, one or two days will be allocated for familiarization and test flights, and then the F-16s will fly to Ukraine," Jarosław Kraszewski said.

According to him, Poland has three bases where aircraft can be maintained, and, for example, the military aviation enterprise in the city of Bydgoszcz WZL Bydgoszcz is designed exclusively for the maintenance of F-16s.

 "Therefore, the opportunities are great," Kraszewski said. According to the expert, if necessary, the Polish state, in addition to state-owned defense companies, can attract private companies with experience and relevant certificates to help maintain Ukrainian aircraft. 

In particular, he noted that in the structure of the private defense holding RBL, which he manages, there is a company whose tasks include the maintenance of F-16s, and it has a corresponding certificate from the American side. According to him, if necessary, the holding is ready to send its engineers to any place determined by the Polish state.

The former commander of the missile forces and artillery of the Ground Forces of the Polish Armed Forces stressed that the presence of strong strike aircraft is "a key factor for Ukraine's victory." 

"Having a strong, serviceable, and fast combat aviation, Ukraine must very quickly cope with the displacement of Russian troops from its own territory," the expert stressed, adding that we are talking about the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine. He called the most important thing for Ukrainian F-16s to have basic weapons, which will allow the Ukrainian army to "significantly strengthen its air defense system." 

In his opinion, Ukraine should use airfields in western Ukraine or Poland, "where they will be safer," to deploy F-16s.

As earlier reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media X that there is a positive decision from the Polish government that will allow Ukraine to receive F-16 aircraft as soon as possible. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia is using 300 combat aircraft against Ukraine, and Kyiv needs at least 128 aircraft to counter them.