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Russia is furious. F-16s are now ripping through
Ukrainian skies—and Putin’s worst fear is becoming
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reality. He thought he could contain the threat.
He thought cruise missiles and glide bombs
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would ground Ukraine’s new jets. He was wrong.
Because in 2025, the F-16s are no longer just a
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symbol—they’re striking back. So how did Ukraine
turn the tide so quickly? It’s part timing,
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part strategy... and part collapse. Ukraine is
gaining more jets—while Russia’s air defenses are
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falling apart. On April 9, Zona Militar shared
new insight from General Christopher Cavoli,
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the head of U.S. European Command. In a
Senate Armed Services Committee hearing,
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Cavoli pulled back the curtain. According to him,
the last six weeks have been chaos. After a brief
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suspension of intelligence sharing in early March,
U.S. and Ukrainian officials resumed talks. Combat
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coordination bounced back. And suddenly, Ukraine’s
F-16 fleet was in motion—fast. Why? More jets.
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Better-trained pilots. And most importantly—more
confidence. “They fly every day,” Cavoli told the
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committee. “They’ve neutralized a large number of
cruise missile threats and have also carried out
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numerous offensive strikes—particularly in the
east.” And that’s the detail Russia didn’t want
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to hear. Because that region—Donbas—isn't just
strategic. It’s personal. The Donbas would be a
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major get for Putin. He attempted to annex the
region back in 2014 when he launched his first
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campaign of aggression against Ukraine. When that
failed, Donetsk, in particular, became one of his
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key areas of focus during his 2022 invasion.
Putin’s forces exerted massive pressure on the
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region throughout 2024. Part of the reason why
Putin wants the region comes down to resources.
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For instance, Pokrovsk (Po-Krov-Sk) – which lies
on the border between the Donbas and the rest of
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Ukraine, is home to a coal mine that was worth
$1.8 billion before Putin invaded. The coking
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coal extracted from that mine is used by Ukraine
to make steel. By taking Pokrovsk, Putin gets his
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hands on two valuable resources he can use to
keep fueling his military and, in the future,
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pump more money into the Russian coffers. The
Pokrovsk mine alone provided 66% of the coking
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coal Ukraine’s steel manufacturers used in 2024,
making it a key target for Putin. But beyond
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resources, there is a more…symbolic reason Putin
wants the Donbas: He views it as the closest thing
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to Russian territory on Ukrainian soil. It’s been
a predominantly Russian-speaking region since at
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least 2001 when a census revealed that Russian was
the main language spoken by 74.9% of the Donbas’s
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residents. Ethnic Russians are also the largest
minority in the region, making up 38.2% of its
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population compared to 56.9% of ethnic Ukrainians.
To Putin, that’s enough to claim that the region
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is at least Russian leading. And the fact that
Donetsk was home to a Russian separatist group
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that Putin tried to use to claim the Donbas back
in 2014 only adds to that reasoning in Putin’s
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mind. It all adds up to Putin really wanting the
Donbas. Now, according to Cavoli, Ukraine is using
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its F-16s to protect its territory in the region.
The EUCOM head also revealed that Ukraine is
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getting more F-16s. “There are more F-16s prepared
to be deployed there. There are more pilots in
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the training pipelines.” he told the hearing.”
Crucially, he also confirmed that none of the
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U.S.-made fighter jets are coming from the U.S.
“None of the F-16s have been from the U.S. though.
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They’re mainly coming from northern European
countries; the Netherlands and Denmark.” And
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he’s not wrong. According to The Kyiv Independent,
Denmark has promised to send 19 F-16s to Ukraine,
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the first of which arrived in the country in 2024.
Norway is another potentially massive supplier,
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with the country having promised between 6 and 22
of the aircraft. Belgium also says it’s willing to
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provide F-16s, though it hasn’t offered clarity on
the numbers, and the Netherlands has marked itself
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out as the biggest contributor – it’s going
to send 24 F-16s to Ukraine. So, it’s clear
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that F-16s are starting to head into Ukraine. The
question now is simple: How is Ukraine unleashing
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them on Russia? When Ukraine received its first
batch of six of the U.S.-made fighter jets in
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August 2024, Putin wasn’t too worried. Yes, the
F-16s were a marked upgrade on the Soviet-era jets
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Ukraine was able to field in the past. However,
the first batch Ukraine received was too few in
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number to pose any sort of attacking threat to his
forces. Ukraine wouldn’t risk any of its vital air
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platforms on attacks because it didn’t want to
lose any of them. Instead, it would have to use
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them for defense, which suited Putin because at
the time he had the resources to deliver massive
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drone, missile, and glide bomb assaults. More on
that later. And Putin was right – the first use
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Ukraine found for its F-16s was intercepting
Russian missiles. It was far more effective
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than Putin ever imagined it could be. Within
weeks of the first F-16s arriving in Ukraine,
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the jets had already been deployed successfully
against one of Putin’s missile barrages. Putin
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expected this to happen. However, he didn’t
expect Ukraine to get its jets into the skies so
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soon after receiving them. On August 27, Defense
News reported on a Russian missile onslaught that
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ultimately killed five Ukrainians, in addition to
damaging several homes, residential buildings, and
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even a hotel. Russia also managed to take out some
of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, plunging Kyiv
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and several other cities into power outages at a
time when the heat in Ukraine was overwhelming.
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The damage would have been much worse were it
not for the fact that this attack marked the
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first time Ukraine deployed its F-16s to shoot
down some of Russia’s missiles. More instances
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of F-16 defense followed, culminating in a January
7 incident when a Ukrainian F-16 pilot managed to
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down a staggering six cruise missiles in a single
mission. That mission was a first for the F-16,
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taking place during a mass Russian airstrike that
saw Putin deploy 200 drones and 94 missiles. “For
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the first time in the history of the Fighting
Falcon, an F-16 fighter jet destroyed six Russian
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cruise missiles in one combat mission,” blared a
social media post published by Ukraine’s Air Force
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Command. “They say that even Americans couldn’t
believe you did it,” claimed Ukraine’s Air Force
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Command spokesperson Yurii Ihnat (U-ree I-Gnat)
when speaking to the pilot he completed the brave
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mission. The pilot provided more details about his
exploits. He said that he approached the incoming
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Russian cruise missiles and managed to lock on
to several of them, despite all being equipped
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with electronic warfare countermeasures that are
supposed to prevent such targeting. The pilot shot
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down a pair of the incoming Russian missiles with
his F-16’s medium-range missiles before taking out
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another two with his short-range missiles. That
should have been the end of the mission given that
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the jet was only equipped with four missiles.
And sure enough, the pilot was recalled from
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where he’d launched his attacks. However, as
he traveled back to base, he spotted another
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missile heading toward Kyiv. Low on fuel and with
no missiles left, the pilot moved to intercept the
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Russian missile. He shot it down with his F-16’s
cannons, scoring a direct hit despite the missile
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traveling at 403 miles per hour. “A few bursts
from the cannon – and an explosion…then another
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one!” the pilot explained when talking about his
feat. “’A secondary detonation,’ I thought, but,
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as it turned out, there were two missiles.”
Such feats of defense show that Ukraine was
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getting more comfortable with its U.S.-made jets.
They’ve also started to cause some severe problems
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for Putin. As Euromaidan Press explained in
February, Ukraine’s intelligent use of its
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F-16s as a defensive force has pushed Putin into
changing his missile strike tactics. Aviation
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expert Anatoliy Khrapchynskyi (Anne-A-Toll-E
Crap-Chin-Ski) explains: “Most of the missiles
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were fired at one target, which makes it more
challenging for air defenses to respond,” he said
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when recounting another Russian missile strike.
“It’s important to understand that the Russians
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have recently changed their tactics. There has
been a reduction in the use of strategic aviation
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with cruise missiles like the Kh-101 and Kh-555.”
Khrapchynskyi continued. “Strange as it may sound,
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Russia understands that employing strategic
aviation and long-range missiles is expensive…The
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arrival of the F-16s enables Ukraine to promptly
intercept any cruise missiles in our airspace,
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which is why there is now a greater [Russian]
focus on striking the frontline and border regions
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where vulnerabilities are more pronounced.” In
other words, Ukraine’s F-16s have been shooting
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so many of Russia’s missiles out of the skies that
Putin no longer wants to risk those he has left in
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his stockpiles. So, he’s launching fewer deep
strikes against Ukraine’s cities and military
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infrastructure. Still, if that was the only use
Ukraine had found for its U.S.-made fighter jets,
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Putin wouldn’t have been furious. Irritated,
maybe. But he can still cause damage with his
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altered missile tactics. However, as Ukraine has
grown more confident with its F-16s – along with
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receiving more from its allies – it’s switched its
focus from defense to attack. Now, Russia’s leader
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is fuming. Toward the end of March 2025, Ukraine
released an interview with one of its F-16 pilots
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detailing how the country is now using its U.S.
fighter jets. Without providing specific details,
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the pilot said that Ukraine’s F-16 pilots are
now flying multiple ground attack missions over
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Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine
– such as the previously mentioned Donbas
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region – every day. Ukraine is also deploying
its F-16s to protect its other fighter jets,
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which include Russian-made Su-25, Su-24,
Su-27, and MiG-29 aircraft. That means Russia
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doesn’t just have to worry about the F-16 as an
attacking force. Ukraine has found a way to make
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its defensive capabilities bear offensive fruit by
using its F-16s as airborne chaperones for older
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jets that can do damage to Russia’s forces in
occupied regions. “Almost every missile hits its
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target,” the pilot explained during the interview.
“More than 80% of the missiles we launch hit their
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targets, destroying both Shahed drones and cruise
missiles launched from sea, air, and land.” The
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pilot didn’t reveal precisely where Ukraine is now
deploying its F-16s. That makes sense. Any details
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would allow Putin’s forces to respond. However,
there have been hints that Ukraine is increasingly
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striking Russian targets on the ground. Beyond
Cavoli’s comments to the U.S. Senate hearing,
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the interviewed pilot said that Ukraine’s F-16s
have demonstrated “impressive results in combat
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operations against both air and ground targets.”
How impressive? “If we want, our bomb can fly
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through someone’s window,” the pilot claimed
when talking about the small diameter bombs and
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JDAM-ERs Ukraine’s F-16s can be equipped with.
The latter is essentially a glide bomb equipped
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with navigational systems to make it more precise,
transforming it into a major threat to any Russian
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troops on the ground. We’re also starting to get a
drip feed of photographs and footage of Ukraine’s
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F-16s in action. For instance, on March 20 a video
surfaced on social media that appeared to show
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one of Ukraine’s F-16s flying low over the Sumy
(Sue-Me) oblast. That’s important because Sumy
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is close to the Kursk (Kur-Sk) region, where
Russia is currently trying to push the last
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Ukrainian forces out of its territory following a
successful counter-invasion in August 2024. It’s
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also close to Belgorod (Bell-Go-Rod). Zelenskyy
has already confirmed that Ukraine is operating
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in that Russian oblast, likely as a response to
Putin’s efforts to push its soldiers out of Kursk.
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Ukraine may have even taken several square miles
of territory in the region. That knowledge casts
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a new light on what the F-16 seen in Sumy may
have been doing. It could have been scouting for
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incoming Russian cruise missiles. Sumy was nearly
overrun by Putin’s forces during his initial
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February 2022 invasion and has become a Russian
target again now that Kursk is almost retaken. Or,
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the aircraft might have been returning from a
bombing run against a Russian ground target in
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Kursk or Belgorod. The low-flying F-16 seen in the
video clip suggests the latter. Bulgarian Military
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says that F-16s often fly low to avoid radar
detection and missile threats, suggesting Ukraine
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was using its F-16 to strike a ground target
before fleeing the scene. Beyond all of this,
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we don’t have many details about how Ukraine
is using its F-16s. Zelenskyy wants to be as
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secretive as possible. However, Cavoli’s comments
reveal that Ukraine is using its U.S.-made fighter
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jets in far more ways than Putin ever expected.
And the news gets worse for Russia. More F-16s are
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coming. And they’re going to be able to do even
more than they are right now. We mentioned earlier
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that several European nations have promised
large numbers of F-16s to Ukraine. However,
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two of those countries – Belgium and Norway – have
been slow on the draw, according to Zona Militar.
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Despite both having promised the jets to Ukraine,
neither has made any deliveries. In Norway’s case,
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the hold-up was likely down to it awaiting the
arrival of a new batch of F-35s from the United
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States. The country didn’t want to retire its
F-16s, making them ready to send to Ukraine,
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until those F-35s arrived. Now, the new U.S. jets
are in Norway. That should mean that the country
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is free to transfer what it’s promised to Ukraine,
which could include “22 F-16 Block 10/15s,
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engines, support equipment, test benches, tools,
maintenance materials, simulators, spare parts,
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manuals, and technical documents,” according to
the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. Those
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22 jets will be a massive influx that increases
Ukraine’s F-16 attacking prowess. As for Belgium,
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Ukraine will have to wait on the country a
little longer. It’s promised 30 of its F-16s
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to support Ukraine, though none have arrived
yet. It looks like none will in 2025, either,
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as the Belgian government claims that it has to
delay the transfer. However, there is at least
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a vague timeline in place. On April 8, Belgian
Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that Ukraine
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would receive two non-working F-16s from his
country in 2025. That might seem useless until
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you realize that Ukraine can strip these older
F-16s for parts to maintain the jets it currently
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has in the skies. As for the rest, De Wever
explained why Belgium is being forced to hold
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back “We hope to do more but we are depending on
the delivery of the F-35,” he explained. “There is
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no delay in Belgium but the F-35 has delays. Once
the F-35 arrives, the F-16 leaves, it’s as simple
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as that.” So, Belgium faces the same problem
Norway had. Ukraine will be hoping that now the
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U.S. has completed its F-35 deliveries to Norway,
it can focus on giving Belgium what it needs so
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that even more F-16s can fill the Ukrainian skies.
This is all terrible news for Putin. As Ukraine’s
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F-16 fleet expands, Putin's troops and armored
positions will face even more attacks on the
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ground. But that brings us to another question:
Why is Ukraine now able to use its F-16s for
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attacks? The increasing availability of the jets
to Ukraine only offers part of the answer. What
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it really comes down to is that Ukraine has done
an excellent job of slowly destroying the threats
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Putin’s forces posed to its F-16s, making
attacking runs more viable. We already see an
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example of this in how Ukraine’s F-16s have forced
Russia to change its missile airstrike tactics.
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With fewer threats being posed to infrastructure
deep in Ukraine, the country can now use its F-16s
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to go on the attack. Other Russian threats are
also being dealt with. Take Putin’s glide bombs as
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an example. These terrifying bombs, which are made
by converting Russia’s Soviet-era FAB dumb bombs
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into more precise munitions through the use of a
special glide kit, have pelted Ukraine’s cities
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throughout the war. Putin launched over 50,000 of
these bombs at Ukraine up to January 2025. Now,
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Ukraine has figured out how to jam those bombs,
according to Forbes. And it’s been so effective
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that it now takes Russia launching between eight
and 16 of these powerful bombs at Ukraine to hit
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a target. Putin is being forced to burn through
his glide bomb stockpiles at a far faster rate
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than he expected. What does that have to do
with Ukraine’s F-16s? It’s all about threat
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reduction. Now that Russia is struggling to back
its missile and drone strikes with glide bombs
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thanks to Ukraine’s jamming, more F-16s are being
freed up to launch devastating ground attacks
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against Russia’s forces. It’s why we’re seeing
the fighter jets flying over Sumy and operating
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in Ukraine’s east. Russia is slowly running out
of offensive aerial options, which opens the door
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for Ukraine to deploy its F-16s in an attacking
capacity. Russia’s aerial defenses are also being
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pelted. During 2025, Ukraine has scored several
successful hits against Russian aerial defenses.
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January 6 saw Ukraine take out three Russian
anti-air systems – a pair of Pantsir-S1s and an
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OSA anti-aircraft vehicle – in a single attack. It
followed that up by taking out its first Russian
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S-350 in February, along with several other
strikes that have taken out S-300s and S-400s
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deep in Russian territory. The logic behind these
types of attacks is clear. Ukraine was hesitant to
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unleash its F-16s as an attacking force upon first
receiving them because the jets aren’t immune to
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Russia’s air defenses. The Pantsir-S1 and S-400,
in particular, can shoot the F-16 out of the skies
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if they lock onto their targets. Ukraine has
used clever drone and missile strikes to take
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these systems out all over Russia and occupied
Ukraine, creating corridors of safe airspace
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in which its F-16s can operate. Russia’s defenses
are being weakened at a time when Ukraine’s aerial
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attacking prowess is rising. That means the F-16
offensives in the occupied eastern territories
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of Ukraine that Cavoli reports are just the
start. In the coming months, we’re likely to
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see Ukraine making even better use of its fighter
jets as more arrive and hundreds of millions of
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dollars of Russian air defenses crumble. But
what do you think about how Ukraine is using
00:16:11
its F-16s? Could the jets be doing even more now
than they already are? Will Ukraine’s intelligent
00:16:17
assaults on Russia’s aerial defenses open up more
opportunities to use its F-16s in the future?
00:16:22
Share your thoughts with us in the comments and
remember to subscribe to The Military Show for
00:16:26
up-to-date commentary on what’s happening in the
Ukraine war. Now go check out F-16s Are Doing
00:16:31
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