Ukraine, here are Zelensky’s latest requests on fighters
Ukrainian President Zelensky said Poland would help form a coalition of Western powers to supply warplanes to Kiev. And the country promises more combat aircraft to Ukraine. But the top Ukrainian military wants American-made F-16s
After the first Polish MiG-29 fighters arrived in Ukraine, President Zelensky insisted on the creation of an international air coalition to supply Kiev with modern fighters.
“Together with the allies, we must come to the creation of an air coalition at the highest level of modern combat aviation. The Polish brothers understand us,” Zelensky said during a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, adding that Ukrainian troops are still fighting for Bakhmut in the east, but could withdraw if they risk being cut off.
During Zelensky's visit to Warsaw, Poland announced it would send 10 more MiG fighters in addition to the four previously supplied. The engagement follows Poland's delivery of four of its Soviet-built jets after it agreed last month to carry out the first shipment of warplanes by a NATO member country, boosting the level of Western military support in Kiev. Slovakia has followed suit and is sending 13 MiG-29 jets.
Soviet MiG-29 fighters have been used by the Ukrainian Air Force since before the outbreak of the conflict, so their pilots are familiar with how they work. But in addition to MiG-29s, Kiev has long been urging Western countries for modern F-16 fighters.
“Any coalition of F-16 donors would likely depend on support from the United States, by far the largest aircraft operator and builder. Washington has ruled out sending F-16 jets to Ukraine for now,” Reuters recalls. In addition, US officials estimated 18 months as the fastest time needed for training and delivery.
All the details.
POLISH FIGHTERS SENT TO UKRAINE
A spokesman for the Polish presidency confirmed on Monday that the first Polish MiG-29 fighters had arrived in Ukraine.
“I believe that in the future we will be able to transfer all of our remaining MiG fleet to Ukraine, should the need arise,” President Duda said, once Poland receives replacement Korean and US fighter planes it has ordered. Poland had 28 MiG jets before it started sending the aircraft to Ukraine, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and plans to replace them with its recent purchase of 48 South Korean FA-50s and 32 U.S.-made F-35A Lightning IIs .
THE ROLE OF POLAND
Duda said Warsaw is also working to secure additional security guarantees for Ukraine at a NATO summit in Lithuania in July.
Poland has so far played a major role in persuading Western allies to supply tanks and other heavy weapons to Ukraine: Warsaw was the first country to commit Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and on Wednesday it committed more MiG-29 fighters from soviet era.
KIEV CALLS ON LOCKHEED MARTIN'S F-16
Ukraine has made fighter jets a central request to Western allies since the Russian invasion, but NATO countries have been reluctant to supply them given the perceived risk of an escalation by Moscow in response.
Poland first tried to send planes to Ukraine as early as a year ago, but the plan fell through after it became clear Washington would not support the move. In addition to pilot training, Western officials have warned that NATO-compatible aircraft require additional refueling, maintenance and armament capabilities that should also be sent, the Financial Times recalls.
Ukrainians are grateful for second-hand MiGs, even as they continue to ask for F-16s or other Western-made jets. There is no sign, however, that an F-16 operator is going to deliver any of Lockheed Martin's fighters to Ukraine, Forbes recalls.
Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the Air Force's most senior commanders, said that while the Allies' donations of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter planes were an "important step," the planes did not fully meet field requirements. of battle of Ukraine, reports Reuters . The commander said Ukraine badly needed F-16 fighter jets, which he described yesterday as "four or five times" more effective than the Soviet-era planes currently used by Ukraine.
“Right now, we can only contain the enemy,” Major Vadym Voroshylov, a Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot, told The Telegraph . "But with F-16s we could control the air as well as the seas and the land, to protect the infantry."
The US president is not of the same opinion: in late February, Biden insisted that the Ukrainian president “doesn't need the F-16s now”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/ucraina-ecco-le-ultime-richieste-di-zelensky-caccia/ on Fri, 07 Apr 2023 06:50:51 +0000.