JRL NEWSWATCH: “The West should supply Ukraine with F-16s; Or Russian fighter jets may win control of Ukrainian skies” – The Economist
“As Ukraine prepares … for a … counter-offensive …. [h]aving finally received the tanks it had been pleading for since last year, Ukraine has increased the intensity of its demands for fighter jets. … About 30 former Warsaw Pact mig-29s are on their way from Poland and Slovakia. But what Ukraine says it needs are … American f-16s … the backbone of NATO air forces for … 40 years. …. [F]ighter jets for Ukraine would send a message to … Putin about the West’s long-term commitment. He might respond with … sabotage or cyber-attacks, but few observers think that deploying f-16s would prompt the Kremlin to start World War III. … Zelensky is asking for f-16s because his advisers believe that, without them, Ukraine’s skies may fill with Russian bombers. …”