Exclusive-Ukraine's F-16 jets were starved of US-made missiles for weeks


FILE PHOTO: A Hellenic Air Force F-16 flies during NATO's media day for Ramstein Flag 25 (RAFL25) at Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands, April 8 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

KYIV, March 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets didn't have enough missiles to shoot down Russian ⁠drones and missiles for more than three weeks after supplies from Kyiv's partners dried up just as Moscow was preparing a massive winter air campaign, three sources said.

The acute shortage from late November to mid-December, which has not been previously reported, ⁠lays bare the vulnerability of Ukraine's air defences which rely heavily on Western allies for missiles and defence systems to repel frequent Russian strikes.

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