Europe | Better late than never

Ukraine gets its F-16s

The political backing may matter even more than the elderly fighter jets

Two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots, assigned to the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, fly alongside a KC-135R Stratotanker, assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Aircraft Refueling Squadron, over Southwest Asia Dec. 4, 2020.
Coming to get youImage: U.S. Air Force

THE FIRST batch of the F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine is preparing to receive is expected to arrive in late September—too late to play a role in the counter-offensive that could begin at any moment. However, the decision, made by Joe Biden just before the G7 meeting in Hiroshima in May, still has immediate significance.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Better late than never”

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