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Ukraine’s Zelensky wants 160 F-16 fighters from West

"Today we have agreements on 50-60 airplanes," the Ukrainian leader said

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky believes that Kiev needs about 160 F-16 fighter jets.

On 30 August, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said that 60 F-16s would be enough for the Ukrainian military to carry out combat missions to counter air strikes. At the same time, the country's authorities earlier said they would need 128 F-16s to fully re-arm their air force by replacing Soviet-made fighters with Western ones.

"Today we have agreements on 50-60 airplanes," he said in an interview with the Portuguese broadcaster RTP. "They will not be delivered all at once. In all we need around 160 [F-16s] to have a powerful air fleet that would prevent Russia from dominating the skies" and enable Ukraine to maintain air defense and control shipping in the Black Sea.

On August 20, Zelensky announced what he described as a "breakthrough agreement" with the Netherlands on the supply of 42 F-16 fighter jets to Kiev. Denmark also said it was ready to provide 19 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The first 6 planes are due to arrive by the end of this year. Denmark and the Netherlands have already announced the training of Ukrainian pilots with assistance from another nine other countries.

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