Zelenskyy announces training of Ukrainian pilots, prospect of aircraft delivery from “three more European countries”

He announced this during a press conference dedicated to the one-year anniversary since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine needs aircraft primarily to protect its skies, and its partners understand this. The only weak point is the timing of the delivery of weapons, which needs to be accelerated.

“Protecting the sky means air defense, drone catchers, etc. We are also talking about airplanes today. This is part of air defense. And our partners understand that we want to use them to protect our skies, infrastructure and civilians. That is why we have taken important steps forward. My meeting with the UK Prime Minister gives an answer to the question whether Ukraine has a chance to get high-quality aircraft. We are opening training with the UK,” Zelenskyy said.

He also added that following the meeting with Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki, the possibility of training Ukrainian military on F-16s is being considered.

“We are in talks and anticipate that we will have the opportunity to get these exercises and these aircraft with three more European countries. You realize that there is no smoke without fire. It will take some time. We want to speed up these processes, they are complicated. But this is a comprehensive defense of the sky,” Zelenskyy summarized.

• On February 23, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said in an interview with The Washington Post that the United States is discussing the transfer of fourth- and fifth-generation combat aircraft to Ukraine, noting the interest of several European countries.