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Officials from Lithuania, the United States and Ukraine revealed on July 31 that Ukraine has received the first batch of F-16 fighter jets donated by Western countries. Ukraine has been looking forward to this for a long time, hoping that this American-made fighter jet will help rebuild the depleted Ukrainian Air Force and seize air superiority in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis posted on the social media platform X that day:F-16Already in Ukraine. Once again, the impossible has become completely possible.”

According to the Associated Press, a Ukrainian lawmaker who wished to remain anonymous confirmed that Ukraine had received a "small number" of F-16 fighter jets. A US official who also requested anonymity confirmed the news. The British newspaper The Times quoted a source as saying that Ukraine had received six F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands.

The Ukrainian government and military have not yet publicly confirmed the news.

Denmark previously pledged to provide Ukraine with 19 F-16 fighter jets, the Netherlands pledged 24, and Norway pledged 6. According to Reuters, Western allies have been training Ukrainian pilots and ground crew on the operation of F-16 fighter jets for months.

The F-16 is a multi-rolefighter, produced by Lockheed Martin Corporation of the United States, has strong mobility and long range. It can be used to compete for air superiority and can also attack the ground. It is good at suppressing the enemy's air defense system. Ukraine hopes to rely on F-16 fighters and suitable air and ground ammunition provided by the United States to seize air superiority and counter Russian missile attacks. Moreover, F-16 fighters are produced in large quantities and are widely used around the world, making them easy to repair and maintain.

The main force of the Ukrainian Air Force is Soviet-made fighter jets, and the fleet is relatively small. Ukraine has previously repeatedly asked NATO countries to provide F-16 fighter jets.

Reuters reported that some analysts and Western officials believe that Ukraine cannot turn the tide of the war with F-16 fighter jets alone.

In early to mid-July, during the NATO summit held in Washington, the capital of the United States, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky urged NATO countries to lift all restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western weapons, especially allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to fire at military targets in Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during the summit that some NATO countries have begun to transfer U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. NATO countries also promised to provide Ukraine with at least 40 billion euros in military aid next year. According to Xinhua News Agency

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Ukraine suspends foreign debt payments

The Ukrainian government decided on July 31 to suspend repayment of foreign debts from August 1 to implement its debt restructuring plan. This will put Ukraine in a state of debt default temporarily.

Reuters reported that the Ukrainian government "temporarily suspended" the repayment of foreign debt on July 31 in accordance with a new law recently passed. This means that Ukraine will not pay the interest on a European bond due on August 1, which is worth 34 million US dollars. The principal and interest of this European bond are due until 2026. It is reported that the Ukrainian government had a 10-day grace period for payment, but the Ukrainian government indicated that it does not intend to pay the interest. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law recently passed by the parliament on July 31, allowing the government to suspend the repayment of foreign debt until October 1.

After the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, foreign creditors allowed Ukraine to suspend payment of foreign debt principal and interest for two years, but this policy expired on August 1 this year.

Ukraine's finance department disclosed on July 22 that it had reached a preliminary agreement with international creditors on a restructuring plan for its nearly $20 billion foreign debt, and it is expected to be formally approved by creditors within a few weeks. According to the agreement, creditors agreed to write down the book value of Ukraine's outstanding international bonds by 37%, which will reduce Ukraine's debt repayment burden by $11.4 billion in the next three years.

According to Reuters, this will be Ukraine's second debt default in the past 10 years, the last time being in 2015, but it is expected to be only a short-term default and will have little impact on the bond market.