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At last, the long-awaited delivery of US-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine has begun. The question now is whether they can provide the silver bullet needed to defeat Russia. Or at least hold off Russian advances. Or simply provide Ukraine with a more effective shield to protect its front lines, which might frustrate the Kremlin’s efforts to bring the country, and NATO, to their knees in the coming months.

The belated delivery of these war machines is better than no delivery at all for the overstretched, overwhelmed, outgunned and fatigued Ukrainian soldiers who are making a stand against an enemy that is far superior in terms of manpower, hardware and technology.

Detractors might find many reasons to portray this delayed Western provision of a few planes as too little too late to change the course of the war. Though such concerns are very valid, one should not dismiss the morale boost they will provide to Ukrainians on the front lines when they hear the distinctive roaring sound overhead of advanced fighter jets, equipped for both attack and defense, in the weeks and months to come. And it is possible that they could hugely frustrate Russian military operations in the skies above Ukraine.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kyiv has been pleading with its Western partners to provide modern fighter jets, in addition to long-range weaponry. The response by allies, however, has been a finely calibrated one: deliver to Ukraine what is absolutely necessary to prevent the success of the Russian invasion, but not enough to inflict an outright defeat on Moscow.

The arrival and deployment of the first batch of F-16s was officially confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week. They are among the most crucial........

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