LUkraine used F-16 fighter jets supplied by its Western partners to repel the latest massive Russian airstrikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
“In these massive Russian attacks, we have already destroyed missiles and drones with the help of F-16s,” Zelensky said at a press conference, also repeating that the number of aircraft received by kyiv was “not enough.”
kyiv said Tuesday it had shot down five Russian missiles and 60 drones in a second consecutive night of massive airstrikes targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which authorities said left at least four people dead.
On August 4, President Zelensky announced that he had received the first Western F-16 fighter jets, after a wait of more than two years.
On the occasion of their reception, he had already stressed that their number was “insufficient” in his eyes.
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Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, kyiv has been pleading tirelessly for the delivery of F-16s in the hope of ending Russian dominance in the air and better protecting its cities and troops from daily Russian bombings.
American-made, the planes are considered the crown jewel in the list of military hardware that Ukraine has requested from its backers in an attempt to repel the advance of Russian forces on its soil.
In mid-May, Volodymyr Zelensky explained in an interview with AFP that he needed 120 to 130 of these aircraft to achieve parity with the Russian air force.
Ukraine’s partners, however, have so far promised to send fewer than 100 F-16s, with most of the planes likely to be delivered over several years, after extensive training of the pilots who will fly them.
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