Since the outset of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has called on the West to deliver “the tools we need to defend our sky and achieve victory” — including F-16s and other advanced fighter jets.
Amid reports that the Netherlands are one step closer to donating F-16s to Ukraine, some social media users have jumped the gun in falsely claiming the fighter jets have already been delivered.
One video that circulated on Christmas Day shows a man in a bomber jacket, with a Ukraine flag patch and other Ukrainian symbols, entering a hanger. He approaches a jet with the colors of the Ukrainian flag — blue and yellow — painted on the side. The video ends with this caption — “F-16’s are arrived [SIC] in Ukraine.”
More than two dozen X users shared the video in multiple languages, writing the Ukrainian government had produced it, or otherwise stating that Ukraine had already received F-16s.
Most were pro-Ukrainian in tone, although some sarcastically wagered when the first F-16 would be “shot down.”
That includes blue-checked X users with an active subscription to the platform, who include open-source intelligence (OSNIT) in their bios and/or usernames.
For example, one such blue-checked X account, OsnittWWIII, posted:
“#Ukraine has confirmed by releasing a video that it has received the first batch of F-16 fighter jets!!!”
That is false.
The video was posted to Instagram on November 30 by Ukrainian clothing brand Aviatsiya Halychyny, which specializes in aviation-related themes.
It advertises Aviatsiya Halychyny’s bomber jackets. A caption accompanying their Instagram post in Ukrainian reads:
“In anticipation of the F-16 we have created a themed bomber [jacket] for the Fighting Falcons fighter, that will soon become the protect[or] of our skies.”
Some of the X posts were later tagged with Reader Context, noting the video is an advertisement for a clothing company.
However, the majority of the posts reviewed by Polygraph.info at the time of this writing did not include Reader Context.
Still, there are indications that F-16 fighter jets could be coming to Ukraine soon.
On December 22, The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, citing an Estonian Ministry of Defense strategy document, said that “Ukraine will very likely receive the first batch of F-16s before the end of 2023.”
Despite initial reservations about delivering F-16s to Ukraine, in May the U.S. signaled it would not stop other nations from transferring the jets to Ukraine.
In August, the U.S. gave the green light to Denmark and the Netherlands to send F16s to Ukraine. Belgium has also announced it will send F-16s to Ukraine.
On December 22, the Netherlands announced it would deliver 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
On December 26, the U.K. Ministry of Defense announced that Ukrainian pilots are learning to fly F-16 fighter jets in Denmark, after completing “a basic program of training” in the United Kingdom.
The ministry said the U.K. and its allies will ensure “Ukraine has a modern air force in the future, formed around the highly capable fourth-generation F-16 fighter jet.”
“Combined with training from the world-leading RAF, this is a significant step forward from Ukraine’s current Soviet-era capabilities.”
Aviatsiya Halychyny was founded in 2014, after Russia first launched its clandestine invasion of Ukraine.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the company has seized on a military-style clothing trend inspired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has regularly worn cargo pants and olive-colored tops.
Natalya Kulyk, a brand manager for Aviatsiya Halychyny, told AFP in October the clothing shows "direct support to our army.”
The company reportedly donates some of its earnings to the Ukrainian military.
Aviatsiya Halychyny previously released a shirt as part of a fundraiser, with the stated aim of purchasing a military jet to help train Ukrainian pilots, including on the F-16.