Ukraine F-16 fleet grounded in Belgium; maintenance bottleneck undercuts promised turnaround

WSJ reports roughly half of Ukraine's ~43 F-16s are stuck in maintenance in Europe, with Belgian firm Sabena holding some 23 aircraft, far below the promised four-per-month repair rate. This reveals a critical sustainment gap in Ukraine's air defense capability, limiting its ability to counter Russian jet-powered drone attacks. The bottleneck is unconfirmed by official sources but sourced to WSJ reporting.