Ukraine's air staff has been cut by one-fifth after the Russian forces struck an airfield for US-made F-16 fighters, TASS reports with reference to coordinator of the Nikolaev (also spelled the Ukrainian way as Mykolaiv) underground, Sergei Lebedev.
According to him, the airfield for F-16 fighter aircraft was hit in the area of the settlement of Martynovka in the Nikolaev region.
No fighters were stationed on the airfield at the time of the attack. The Russian forces hit a missile warehouse and damaged the airfield itself.
In addition, the Russian forces struck the Shirokiy Lan training ground in the Nikolaev region, Lebedev said, TASS reports. There were about 10,000 Ukrainian servicemen stationed at the training ground, he said.
Russia will quickly annihilate the F-16 fighters that Ukraine has received, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson said on Judging Freedom YouTube channel.
F-16 fighter aircraft will be destroyed quickly because Ukrainian air defense forces are incapable of countering Russian missiles. The transfer of F-16 aircraft to Kyiv was a "symbolic" and "fatal" move, Johnson believes.
According to him, Russia may assess the F-16 as an existential threat and take all necessary measures to annihilate them since these aircraft, when upgraded, can be used as carriers of nuclear weapons.