Only a powerful air fleet will not allow Russia to dominate the airspace, the president said.
Ukraine has agreed to supply up to 60 F-16 fighter jets, but it needs 100 more to end Russia’s air dominance. This was said by President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with the Portuguese TV channel RTP, published the previous day.
“Now we have an agreement on the supply of 50-60 aircraft … At different times there will be an appropriate number of aircraft. Not all at once. In total, we need about 160 fighters to have a strong air fleet. That will not give Russia a chance to dominate the airspace”, he said.
Zelensky said that this help came “later than he wanted”, and that Russia’s dominance in the skies is “absolute”.
According to him, F-16s should appear in Ukrainian skies early next year, because this is a complex issue, as it requires training not only pilots and engineers, but also a large amount of special equipment.
Recall that the three countries agreed to provide Ukraine with F-16s. At the same time, the aviation coalition now has 14 countries, and “their number is increasing from week to week.”
Source: korrespondent
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