“I do not need 120 planes”: Zaluzhnyi says Ukraine needs only limited number of aircraft, but they are necessary 

The Commander-in-Chief said this in an interview with the Washington Post.

According to the outlet, Zaluzhnyi has a command center screen displaying the aerial situation over Ukraine, including NATO member states' aircraft along the country's western border.

"Let’s just say the number of aircraft that are on duty near our western borders is twice as much as the number of Russian aircraft devastating our positions. Why can’t we take at least a third of it from there and move it here?" comments Zaluzhnyi.

The Commander-in-Chief also emphasized that Russian modern aircraft, in particular the Su-35, have a better radar and missile range that older Ukrainian aircraft cannot compete with. As a result, ground troops “are easily targeted."

Zaluzhnyi emphasizes that Ukraine needs a limited number of aircraft, but "they are needed."

"Nobody is saying that tomorrow we should rearm and get 120 planes. Why? I do not need 120 planes. I’m not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough. But they are needed. Because there is no other way. Because the enemy is using a different generation of aviation. It’s like we’d go on the offensive with bows and arrows now,” he explains.

Zaluzhnyi also noted that NATO's doctrine is similar to Russia's, as it provides for air superiority before launching deep-action ground operations.

"And Ukraine, moving to offensive operations, should follow which doctrine?" the commander-in-chief asks rhetorically.

• The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, also said that he was frustrated with complaints about the slow pace of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, because every meter is given by blood.