Yuriy Sak, adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, named the number of F-16 fighter jets that Kyiv hopes to receive from the allies.
He told Politico about it.
According to Sak, Ukraine wants to get 40 to 50 F-16s in total, forming three or four squadrons to protect its skies from Russian bombing.
Kyiv is telling Western leaders that the need for modern aircraft has become more acute since the Russian Air Force began widely using long-range guided bombs in March. At the moment, Ukraine has "nothing to stop" Russian planes carrying them, Sak said.
"Everyone understands that this topic is ripe for discussion. No one said that it is impossible. If we compare it with what happened three months ago, when we were still fighting for tanks, today everyone is talking about a coalition of fighters - this is a very promising sign." said Sak.
"We understand that our air defense will not be complete without fighters, the F-16," he added.
Sak noted that President Volodymyr Zelenskyі wants the issue of combat aircraft to be at the top of the agenda at the G7 summit in Hiroshima and at the NATO summit in Lithuania in July.
According to an adviser to the defense minister, the Ukrainian president received "assurances" from Western leaders during his latest European tour that they would discuss this issue in the coming days.
While Britain, Italy, France and Germany cannot offer F-16s, Sack said they have an important voice in the international coalition, and Ukraine would like them to encourage allies such as the US and Turkey.