Kyiv wants to receive 40-50 F-16 fighters from allies – Defence Minister adviser

Yurii Sak, advisor to Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, has named the number of F-16 fighter jets that Kyiv hopes to receive from its allies. 

Source: Politico, as European Pravda reports

Details: According to Sak, Ukraine wants to receive 40 to 50 F-16s in total, forming three or four squadrons to protect its skies from Russian bombing. 

Kyiv has told Western leaders that the need for modern aircraft has become more acute since the Russian air force began making extensive use of guided reconnaissance bombs in March, which can reach targets at greater distances. Currently, Ukraine has "nothing to stop" Russian aircraft from carrying them, Sak said.

"Everyone understands that this topic is ripe for discussion. Nobody said that it’s impossible. If you compared it with three months ago, when we were still struggling to get tanks, today everybody is talking about the jet coalition — that’s a very promising sign," Sak said. 

"We understand that our air defense will not be complete without fighter jets, F-16s," he added.

Sak noted that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants the issue of combat aircraft to be high on the agenda of the G7 summit in Hiroshima and the NATO summit in Lithuania in July.

The Ukrainian president received "assurances" from Western leaders during his latest European tour that they would discuss the issue in the coming days, according to an adviser to the defence minister.

Although Britain, Italy, France, and Germany cannot offer F-16s, Sack said that "they have an important voice in the international coalition", and Ukraine would like them to encourage allies such as the United States and Türkiye.

Background:

• On 15 May, it was reported that Britain had agreed to start training Ukrainian pilots in the summer and was already working with other countries on the possible provision of F-16s to Ukraine. 
• In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron, after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated he had "opened the door" to training pilots from Ukraine, without specifying any details. 

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