Air Force spokesman tells how many aircraft Ukraine needs

Colonel Yuriy Ihnat said this in an interview with Channel 24.

"One of the French channels asked me about this. I ambitiously replied that to protect such a large state as Ukraine, we need about 200 multirole aircraft to form 4-5 brigades," said the spokesman for the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

At the same time, Ihnat emphasized that Ukraine already has five tactical aviation fighter brigades, a brigade of attack aircraft, bombers and transport brigades.

"In this way, we are reducing the number due to the multirole aircraft that will be on combat duty throughout the country, including at additional operational airfields," Ihnat said.

The Air Force spokesman recalled how the French general reacted to his statement: "The Ukrainian colonel is right. Ukraine is like France - one of the largest countries in Europe in terms of size. We have as many aircraft as France - 230."

He is talking about the Rafale and the updated Mirage, given that France is a NATO member and has friendly neighbors around it.

"And Ukraine has enemies all around it - the Black and Azov Seas, Russia, Belarus... But he (spokesman for the Ukraine’s Air Force Yuriy Ihnat - ed.) hasn't said much yet," the Ukrainian military officer quoted his French counterpart.

• February 18 British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says Ukraine should expect to receive modern fighter jets after the war with Russia ends. 

• On February 20, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the decision to provide Ukraine with fighter jets could be made by the allies in the next one to two months. 

• Amid new appeals to Western countries to provide fighter jets, Slovakia is considering providing Ukraine with 10 of its 11 MiG-29 aircraft.

• At the same time, Polish President Andrzej Duda emphasized the need to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters.

• Poland and Slovakia may jointly provide Ukraine with MiG-29 fighters.

• Earlier, two Ukrainian pilots traveled to the United States to train on F-16 fighter jet simulators.