Kyiv wants to get 40-50 F-16 fighters from allies – Defense Ministry adviser Sak

He told Politico about this.

According to Sak, Ukraine wants to receive 40 to 50 F-16s in total, forming 3 or 4 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 using guided aircraft in March, which can reach targets at greater distances. Ukraine currently has "nothing to stop" Russian aircraft 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.

According to the defense minister's aide, the Ukrainian president received "assurances" from Western leaders during his recent European tour that they would discuss the issue in the coming days.

Although Britain, Italy, France and Germany cannot offer the F-16, Sack added that “they have an important voice in the international coalition" and Ukraine would like them to encourage allies such as the US and Turkey.

• On May 15, media reported that the UK has no plans to send fighter jets to Ukraine after it was stated that the Ukrainian military wants to use F-16s.