Ukraine seeks 40-50 F-16s to protect its skies from Russian bombing

Advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, Yuriy Sak, named the number of F-16 fighters that Kyiv hopes to receive from the allies.

He told the publication Politicoreports “European truth“.

Ukraine wants 40 to 50 F-16s overall, Sack said, forming three or four squadrons to protect its skies from Russian bombing.

Kiev tells Western leaders that the need for modern aircraft has become more urgent since the Russian air force began making extensive use of guided glide bombs in March that reach targets at long ranges. Right now, Ukraine has “nothing to stop” the Russian planes that carry them, Sak said.

“Everyone understands that this topic is ripe for discussion. Nobody said that it was impossible. Compared to what happened three months ago, when we were still fighting for tanks, today everyone is talking about a coalition of fighters – this is a very promising sign” Sack said.

“We understand that our air defense will not be complete without fighters, F-16s,” he added.

Sak noted that President Volodymyr Zelensky wants the issue of combat aircraft to be at the top of the agenda of the G7 summit in Hiroshima and at the NATO summit in Lithuania in July.

According to an adviser to the defense minister, the Ukrainian president received “assurances” from Western leaders during his latest European tour that they would discuss the issue in the coming days.

Although the UK, Italy, France and Germany cannot offer F-16s, Sack said “they have an important voice in the international coalition” and Ukraine would like them to encourage allies like the US and Turkey.

On May 15, it became known that the UK agreed in the summer start training Ukrainian pilots and is already working with other countries on the possible provision of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron, after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky declared “open doors“for training pilots from Ukraine, without specifying the details.