US senator calls on retired F-16 pilots to come 'fight for freedom' in Ukraine after meeting with Zelenskyy

• Ukraine is finally operating F-16s, but President Zelenskyy said Kyiv lacks trained pilots.
• With this in mind, a US lawmaker is urging retired F-16 pilots from the West to go to Ukraine.

A US senator who recently visited Ukraine has issued a call for retired F-16 pilots to join Kyiv's air force, where they can fly the American-made aircraft in a "fight for freedom" against Russia.

Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal met on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told the lawmakers that he wants to establish a program to enlist retired F-16 pilots from NATO countries to help strengthen his country's air force.

"We support this effort," the senators said in a joint statement on their trip published on Monday. "Ukraine is already fielding units of freedom fighters on the ground, and this volunteer force should be replicated in the air."

After a long wait, Ukraine finally received its first F-16s a few weeks ago. Zelenskyy unveiled the fighter jets at a public event at the start of August, calling the much-celebrated arrival of the aircraft a "new phase of development" for Kyiv's air force.

But Ukraine didn't receive many F-16s in the initial delivery, and Zelenskyy has cautioned that the country lacks enough trained pilots to fly the aircraft. With this in mind, Graham, who served for years in the US Air Force, put out a call to Western pilots who have already received training on the fighter jet.

"If you're a retired F-16 pilot and you're looking to fight for freedom, they will hire you here," the South Carolina senator said at a press conference during his visit to Ukraine. "They're going to look throughout NATO nations for willing fighter pilots who retired to come help them until they can get their pilots trained."

"We're going to get these jets in the air sooner rather than later, and we are looking for pilots who are willing fight for freedom as the Ukrainians train their own pilots," he said.

Western fighters, including veterans, have traveled to Ukraine to help support its efforts against Russia throughout the war, helping in training roles and front-line combat operations. Graham and Blumenthal are seeking to expand this aspect of the war into the skies now that Kyiv is finally operating Western aircraft.

Meanwhile, the two senators also called on the Biden administration to lift restrictions on Kyiv using US-provided weapons to strike inside Russian territory, especially long-range missiles.

Ukrainian officials have long pressed Washington to drop these restrictions, which Kyiv argues have prevented its military from effectively battling back Moscow's forces.

During his nightly address to the nation on Monday, Zelenskyy shared that he had discussed these efforts with the US senators.

"I expressed my gratitude to America for its support in our defense," Zelenskyy said of his meeting with Graham and Blumenthal. "It is crucial that both Ukrainians and Americans emerge truly victorious in this shared defense of a normal life and people's freedom."

"We discussed what is specifically needed to bring this war to a just end," he added, saying he "thoroughly explained our need for long-range capabilities."