MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky said that US-supplied F-16 fighter jets are insufficient to guarantee the country’s air security.
"We don’t yet have all the aircraft we need. But we know that these aircraft <…> well, there aren’t enough of them to ensure our safety in the sky. There is a certain number we require, but I’m not ready to disclose it yet," he stated while discussing F-16s at a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Kiev.
Zelensky stressed that the F-16 issue illustrates the broader challenges of providing Ukraine with real security guarantees. "All this requires political will <…>, aside from the manufacturer’s capacity, which is a separate factor. We need genuine support, not promises for 20 years down the line when production is complete. It means someone has to step out of the queue, someone has to hand over newer aircraft. And then comes the question of funding – this is also a very complicated process. That is why security guarantees are difficult, because of these details," he said.
The exact number of F-16s delivered to Ukraine has not been disclosed, though the Ukrainian air force has already lost some of them in combat. Yury Ignat, spokesperson for the air force command, also admitted that the F-16s provided by partners are not fully competitive against Russian Su-35 jets.