Kyiv's first F-16s and a Slovak diesel threat
A look back at two developments in Ukraine's relations with allies and neighbours in the days before and around 5 August 2024.
What did Ukraine's government have to show for its partnerships on 5 August 2024? One answer came a day earlier, the other a few days before that, and they pointed in different directions.
On 4 August 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the country had received its first F-16 fighter aircraft from NATO allies. The announcement was presented as part of the continuing flow of military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
A second, less welcome issue involved a neighbour. On 31 July 2024, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened to suspend Slovakia's diesel exports to Ukraine. His condition was that the Ukrainian government continue to suspend pipeline oil transport from the Russian oil company Lukoil. Slovakia claimed the suspension was causing a national energy crisis.
Taken together, the two reports show Kyiv receiving long-awaited Western military equipment while facing pressure from a neighbouring government over an oil transit dispute involving a Russian company.
