Zelenskyy: Ukraine needs 128 F-16 jets to compete with Russia in sky
Illustrative photo (getty images)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, responding to questions after his speech at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington, stated that Ukraine needs a minimum of 128 F-16 fighter jets to effectively compete with Russia in the sky.
"The problem with the F-16s is the quantity and the dates. But let's be honest. Russia uses 300 aircraft against Ukraine every day. We had a decision for 10-20. Even if we have 50 – it's nothing. We are defending ourselves, and we need 128. That's a fleet," Zelenskyy said.
He emphasized that Ukraine's allies are aware of this information.
"Until we have 128 aircraft, we will not be able to match them (the Russians) in the sky. It will be difficult," the president stressed.
On July 2, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation issued a license to export 24 F-16 aircraft and seven aircraft engines to Ukraine. The first aircraft will be delivered "soon."
Currently, neither the Netherlands nor Kyiv plans to disclose the timelines for when the F-16s will arrive in Ukraine.
