Zelenskyy Halfway Done Taking Back Ukraine Territory, F-16’s ‘Months Away’ At Least: Blinken

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy is halfway through completing his wartime goal of liberating all of occupied Ukraine, and that F-16s could still be "months and months" away from actually getting there.

"If a decision were made to actually move forward on the F-16s tomorrow, it would be months and months before they were actually operational," Blinken told CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Sunday.

President Joe Biden cleared the way for Ukraine to receive F-16s jets in May when the U.S. joined an international effort to train the Ukrainian military as they continue to fight a Russian invasion.

This is where the delay lies, Blinken said, noting Ukrainians need to be trained on the equipment and be able to maintain the jets.

Zakaria told Blinken Ukrainians have complained that support from countries like the U.S. often comes with delays, a frustration Blinken said he understood.

"The training program is moving forward now," he said about the F-16s.

He celebrated Ukraine's success, revealing the country has taken back half of the territory seized by Russia.

"It’s already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized," Blinken said.

The secretary of state warned the Ukraine war does not have an end in sight in the weeks ahead.

"It will not play out over the next week or two," Blinken said. "We're still looking at the next few months."