With the defeat of Ukraine**, Western aid to Ukraine has begun to decline continuously, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that the balance of victory has tilted in favor of Russia. Against this background, the Netherlands handed over the first batch of "air combat weapons" to Ukraine, which boosted the confidence of the Ukrainian side for a while.
According to the Observer Network, recently, Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Rutte announced on social platforms that the Netherlands has prepared to hand over the first batch of 18 F-16 fighters to Ukraine, and has notified Ukraine ** Zelensky. Some netizens believe that once this batch of F-16 fighters arrives, Ukraine will have air combat capabilities, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict may usher in a turnaround.
Frankly speaking, I personally do not agree with this point of view, first of all, it is true that the F-16 fighter is a "sharp weapon in air combat", but 18 F-16s are not enough to change the tide of the war, and it is impossible to gain air supremacy. Many people know that from the perspective of air supremacy, Russia has the advantage, because in the past year or so, in most cases, Ukraine has used anti-aircraft missiles to intercept Russian air strikes.
In rare cases, the Ukrainian army will use asymmetric combat methods such as "suicide" drones to launch attacks on Russian territory. Therefore, the number of F-16 fighters in one squadron alone is not enough for Ukraine to have an advantage in air combat, let alone regain air supremacy. Based on this, I think the role of this batch of F-16 fighters will be more reflected in defense, such as using F-16 air-to-air missiles to intercept Russian air strikes.
Of course, a scene that the majority of military enthusiasts are looking forward to may also happen, that is, the wonderful scene of Russian-made MiG-31 fighters, Su-35 fighters vs. American-made F-16 fighters. This can not only feast the eyes of military enthusiasts, but also allow various countries to observe the real performance of US-made fighters and Russian-made fighters from actual combat.
Then again, the biggest problem in Ukraine at present is not that a small number of ** can be solved, but that Western countries have lost confidence in Ukraine, so they have reduced their support. We all know that with Ukraine's comprehensive national strength, it has been able to confront Russia for so long purely because of the strong support of the United States and the West, in other words, without the support of the United States and the West, Ukraine's defeat is almost an inevitable result.
Therefore, if Zelensky wants to change the current situation of the war, the most important thing to do is to pull down his face and ask the United States and the West for help. Whether it is forcibly demanded or sold miserably for help, all in all, the support of the United States and the West cannot be reduced. In fact, Zelensky did exactly that, not long ago, he went out on a visit, ran around the United States and the European Union, and asked for a lot of economic aid back.
However, this economic assistance is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for Ukraine's huge needs, and it will not alleviate the real problem. In my opinion, this is still Ukraine's own problem, because of the ** defeat, which led to heavy losses in the army, a vicious circle was formed. Therefore, if Ukraine can fight a few beautiful battles again, it may be able to usher in a turnaround, and now it depends on whether Zelensky fights or not.