Want to Stop Russia’s Jet-Powered Drone Attacks? Call the Belgian Embassy

In Kyiv, we have learned to tell the difference between the softer sound of Russian jet-powered Geran drones and the throaty F-16s that are taking them out. Unfortunately, the sound of the jet Gerans is much more prevalent than that of Ukraine’s defenders.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Almost half of Russia’s jet-powered Gerans are getting through Ukraine’s air defenses. Cumulatively, that is about 4,000 successful strikes this year, attacking bridges, schools and hospitals, with close calls on European embassies and passenger trains full of foreign dignitaries. Russia is building 3,000 per month and expanding production. Many of these strikes could have been intercepted with a fully functioning F-16 fleet. According to President Zelensky, about half of Ukraine’s approximately 43 F-16s are awaiting maintenance in Europe. The Wall Street Journal identified Belgian aerospace company Sabena as the place where some 23 Ukrainian planes sit in maintenance limbo. The F-16 is one of the few weapons platforms available to Ukraine that can take out a Russian jet-powered drone. In fact, the faster drones are easier for an F-16 to intercept than the slow-moving propeller-driven Shaheds. Ukraine’s air defenses boast a 90-95% interception rate on those. Ukraine’s F-16 flight wing is one of the most successful of all time. Ukraine flies one of the oldest F-16 fleets with the least experienced pilots, in one of the most brutal air defense environments of any war. Yet they have taken out nearly 700 Russian cruise missiles and more than 2,500 Shahed-type drones, both conventional and jet-powered. For perspective, Royal Air Force fighter planes downed 1,218 Luftwaffe planes in the Battle of Britain. Other Topics of Interest Sweden Sends Patriot to Poland to Guard Ukraine Aid Hub Sweden’s first Patriot mission under NATO command will protect the Rzeszów logistics hub starting in December. But any airplane requires support. “Phase maintenance” is required for every 300 hours of flight time. Belgian aerospace company Sabena was awarded a $235 million contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) to conduct phase maintenance on Ukrainian F-16s in January of this year. Maintenance for a single plane is taking as long as 40 weeks, according to retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, cited by the Wall Street Journal. For comparison, Romanian TV reported in August that phase maintenance for F-16s of the same generation with similar modifications requires six weeks at Romanian aerospace company Aerostar. USAF technicians in 2012 in Kandahar, operating in 40-degree heat under enemy fire, compressed wartime F-16 phase maintenance to three and a half days. Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken, in an interview reminiscent of Monty Python’s “Dead Parrot” sketch, denied any problems, described the Sabena program as “running perfect” and implied that the Wall Street Journal editorial board and a retired two-star admiral might be Russian propagandists. The Sabena contract was awarded in January, and Mr. Francken claims a turnaround of four F-16s per month. Were the program running perfectly, Sabena would have performed 32 phase maintenance procedures this year, and President Zelensky would not be telling the Financial Times about missing half his planes. Certainly, the Dutch seem to think there is a problem, as the Netherlands just announced they will be pitching in on maintenance duties for Ukraine’s F-16s. Other Ukrainian F-16 maintenance efforts through Sabena are taking even longer. Norwegian media reported in April of this year that all six F-16s donated to Ukraine in 2023 had been awaiting maintenance or assembly in Belgium for at least a year. Lockheed-Martin can build a new F-16 in less time. Even if Sabena turns over four planes a month going forward, this only addresses Ukraine’s current needs But Mr. Francken seems more interested in saving face than saving lives.Belgium is on both sides of this problem. Brussels should be commended for finally ceasing to import Russian energy in August and September, but Belgian importers have already sent €1.64 billion ($1.84 billion) to Russia for liquid natural gas (LNG) in 2026, according to RussiaFossilTracker.This is enough money to fund the production of every jet-powered Geran Vladimir Putin has fired into Ukraine in 2026, with enough left over to fund about a third of Russia’s cruise missile attacks.One of the last European importers of Russian energy, Belgium ranks among the top five European importers since Jan. 1, 2023, sending about €8.3 billion ($9.3 billion) to Russia in that time frame.For years, we have listened to Belgian officials explaining that a billion-euro contractual obligation to Russia’s Yamal LNG required their gas utility to continue to fund the Russian war machine. Those of us hearing jet-powered Gerans overhead would like to see the same attention paid to contractual obligations by Sabena.Even if Sabena turns over four planes a month going forward, this only addresses Ukraine’s current needs and doesn’t return the roughly 29 planes Ukraine has been awaiting.But there is a solution. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever was very clear at the Victor Pinchuk Foundation’s Ukrainian Breakfast in Davos 2026, when he explained why Russia’s frozen assets should not be used to aid Ukraine’s war effort. He said, “We are not at war with Russia. Europe is not at war with Russia.”Since Mr. De Wever is not in urgent need of Belgium’s 50 or so F-16s, he could save a lot of lives by instructing the Belgian Air Force to immediately loan Ukraine 29 Belgian F-16s. One Belgian plane will be returned for each Ukrainian plane that returns from maintenance. Belgian loaners would dramatically increase the interception rate of Russian jet-powered Gerans and free Ukrainians from living under terror.It is easy for people living in Ukraine to feel powerless as Russian drones and missiles destroy homes and infrastructure. Now Kyiv residents can act. Call the Belgian embassy and ask them to send replacement F-16s immediately until Sabena can solve its maintenance backlog. Or maybe it is time for the cardboard revolution to shift from Bankova to the Belgian embassy. The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post. Steven MooreSteven Moore, founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project and a former congressional Republican chief of staff, went to Ukraine on day 5 of the war. His film, A Faith Under Siege, documents Russian atrocities against Ukrainian Christians.