Russia has long argued that a proxy war is being waged against it
F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine, August 4, 2024. © Ukrainian Presidency / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images
[RT] The
Ukrainian military is secretly using a squadron of veteran NATO pilots
to fly donated US-made F-16 fighter jets, the French outlet Intelligence
Online reported on Monday.
Moscow has long warned that Western
nations are moving closer to direct conflict with Russia. The report,
which Kiev has denied, said the covert mission relies primarily on
experienced US and Dutch air force veterans.
The foreign personnel
are deployed far from the front lines and focus on intercepting Russian
long-range weapons, the outlet said. They are no longer part of their
original militaries and reportedly work for Kiev as civilian
contractors, without military ranks and outside the Ukrainian chain of
command.
A shortage of trained Ukrainian pilots was previously
identified as the main obstacle to using F-16s donated to Kiev. Training
courses were reportedly undermined by language barriers, a lack of
qualified trainees, and other issues, and were simplified for speed.
Shortly after the first F-16s arrived in Ukraine in August 2024, Kiev began losing pilots in botched air defense missions, with four such incidents acknowledged.
The
secret foreign squadron provides pilots with the experience needed to
operate advanced F-16 equipment, Intelligence Online said.
Moscow
views the Ukraine conflict as a NATO proxy war against Russia, in which
key elements of Kiev’s military effort – including intelligence,
planning, troop training, and maintenance of complex Western hardware –
are handled by foreign personnel.
Western specialists were
reportedly involved in Ukrainian strikes using Storm Shadow/SCALP
air-launched cruise missiles on Russian territory. German officials
opposed supplying Taurus missiles because Ukrainians cannot launch them
independently.
Russia also says Western nations tacitly support Kiev’s
recruitment of mercenaries from among their military veterans.
Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik estimated that around 20,000 foreign fighters have taken part in the conflict on the Ukrainian side.