Belgium will hand over the first F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as part of its F-35 replacement program allows it to do so. Now it is important for Ukraine to get permission to strike Russian territory.

This was stated by analyst and aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap on the air of Apostrophe TV.

"Belgium was not going to hand over F-16s to us before. However, now they have launched a program to replace them with F-35. So it is now possible to transfer the aircraft to Ukraine," he said.

Since the F-16s have missiles with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers, it is important for Ukraine to get permission to use them inside Russia.

Meanwhile, Russia is increasing drone production. Its first contract with Iran was signed in December 2022. At the first stage, it was supposed to master the production of fuselages, at the second - the production of components, and at the third - to start its own production of shaheds.

"According to the program, Russia should produce 6,000 Shahed drones by May 2025. Today, Russia uses about 350 Shaheds per month against Ukraine. The published data on the production of 6,000 Shaheds per year is unrealistic," he added.

At the same time, according to political strategist Oleh Posternak, President Volodymyr Zelensky is currently making courtesy visits to various countries to sign security agreements. The visit to Spain, which has been very active in supporting Ukraine over the past two years, is especially important.

"The visit to Belgium, which currently holds the EU presidency and is largely responsible for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession, is also important. It has also promised to send the first F-16s to Ukraine this year," he said.

The West usually tests the supply of new weapons through small countries like Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands. There are agreements on this between large states and small ones.

"We are now one-third of the way to authorizing the use of foreign weapons inside Russia. The most important thing is to persuade the United States and Germany. If Russia takes another escalating step, the United States may change its position and give its approval," the political strategist explained.

As for the Peace Summit in Switzerland in June, he noted that there will be an US delegation. Most likely, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend.

At the same time, the Democratic Party probably does not want to make Ukraine a campaign issue. Instead, the Republicans have recently changed their position dramatically and are criticizing President Joe Biden for his indecision in providing assistance.

The political strategist emphasized that the current US election campaign is one of the most ambitious. It is unpredictable. This is Donald Trump's third presidential election. He now has an advantage.

At the same time, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin will try to use Trump's victory for his benefit.

"The question is what Trump's inner circle will be like, as well as how well Zelensky will be able to establish a personal relationship with Trump," Oleg Posternak added.

Earlier, Apostrophe reported that Belgium did not allow the Ukrainian military to strike Russia with its F-16s.