Ukraine will acquire F-16 fighter jets ‘very soon’: Defense minister
Ukraine will receive US-made F-16 fighter jets “very soon”’ but half of the assistance package is being delivered late, the defense minister says.
Rustem Umerov said Kiev expected its Western allies to provide it with US-made F-16 fighter jets “very soon” but some half of its desperately-needed foreign military aid is arriving late.
He said Russia was boosting the front with more manpower and equipment and that its forces were trying to open a new front in the north.
“Their objective is to open a new front in the north to start using all their manpower, firing power, against us, they are continuing with their objective to destroy the nation,” Umerov said in an interview with Reuters on Monday that was published on Tuesday.
“We are withstanding, but of course we need more weapons, we need more firing power, we need long-range missiles, not to allow them to enter our state.”
Earlier this month, Russia launched an offensive against the northeastern Kharkiv region but Ukraine claims it had managed to stabilize the new front there.
“Time is super-crucial and, to repel the attacks, we need to have [the deliveries] on time in place,” Umerov said.
Ukraine, due to decreasing manpower and ammunition shortages, is struggling to fend off advancing Russian ground troops. The country has for months been repeatedly asking from the West for more military hardware, long-range missiles and advanced warplanes.
The United States and its Western allies have been providing huge military and financial support to Kiev since the onset of the war in February 2022.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that any shipment containing weapons and ammunition for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia.
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