Air-to-air missiles for Ukraine could be decisive in war with Russia, but several conditions must be met

Dolintse shared his insights during an interview on Espreso TV.

He explained, "Having missiles, especially long-range ones with a range of 120-180 km, would enable us to push Russian aircraft away from the frontline and border regions. This could potentially reduce the number of airstrikes in areas like the Sumy and Kharkiv regions."

Furthermore, Dolintse highlighted that with these missiles at the disposal of the Ukrainian military, it would become perilous for the enemy to approach the eastern frontline regions of Ukraine. 

He elaborated, "This means that enemy targets could be engaged before they even reach the typical launch points. Primarily, this applies to unguided aviation missiles, which are frequently utilized by helicopters and bomber aircraft."

Dolintse stressed that the effectiveness of these weapons would largely depend on the quantity of such missiles supplied.

He concluded, "If we're talking about just a few dozen, it won't have a significant impact on the airspace situation. However, if we're discussing the delivery of several thousand missiles, that would be a highly influential factor."

F-16 fighters for Ukraine

• On May 21, US President Joe Biden approved the training of Ukrainians on F-16s. Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured that Ukraine would not use these aircraft to strike at Russian territory.

• Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that the first F-16 fighter jets are likely to fly in Ukraine's skies by the end of March 2024.

• On Sunday, July 16, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the US would not postpone training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, and Biden allowed European countries to start training.

• On August 11, it was reported that the first group of Ukrainian pilots would complete training on F-16 fighter jets no earlier than next summer. The start of combat training will be preceded by 4-month language courses.

• Subsequently, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi met with the Chief of Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces in Ukraine. Among the topics discussed was pilot training on F-16 fighter jets.

• And Romanian President Klaus Iohannis confirmed that the country will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s: a regional training center will be opened there.

• Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat announced on August 17 that Ukraine won't be able to get F-16 fighters from Western allies during the upcoming fall or winter. Therefore, the focus will be on bolstering air defense capabilities. Concurrently, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed optimism about the prospect of providing F-16s to Ukraine, while Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hinted at forthcoming positive news.

• On August 20 Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to the Netherlands to discuss the supply of F-16 fighter jets with Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte: according to the president, a "breakthrough agreement" was reached. Netherlands will send 42 F-16 fighters to Ukraine

• On Sunday, August 20, Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that the Netherlands would provide Ukraine with 42 F-16 fighter jets, while Denmark committed to delivering 19 aircraft.

• On August 21, Zelenskyy announced that Greece had also joined the so-called "aviation coalition" and would train Ukrainian pilots.

• On August 24, during his visit to Kyiv, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed the country's plans to provide a certain number of F-16 fighters and join the training of pilots. The Norwegian government also announced that the country would provide Ukraine with IRIS-T missiles.

• On the same day, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Portugal would join the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.

• Later it became known that the Pentagon plans to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in the USA in September: first they will learn English, and then they will begin flight training.

• The Polish plant plans to produce 70-80% of the F-16 fighter hull structure by the end of next year.

• On the evening of Wednesday, August 30, it was reported that some of the Ukrainian pilots have already successfully passed preparation and can begin F-16 training.

• On the same day, Romania and the Netherlands agreed on the creation of a training center for Ukrainian F-16 pilots.