In Washington, Zelenskyy explained how many F-16s Ukraine needs and pointed out a nuance with the Patriot

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs at least 128 F-16 fighter jets to create effective competition in the sky for the aggressor Russia. He also thanked partners for additional Patriot air defense systems, while emphasizing that they are still not enough.

The Ukrainian leader said this during a Q&A session after his speech at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington, DC. As a reminder, the US is hosting the NATO summit on July 9-11.

"The problem with F-16s is the number and dates. But let's be honest. Russia uses 300 aircraft against Ukraine every day. We had a decision about 10-20. Even if it is 50, it is nothing. We are defending ourselves, we need 128. This is the fleet," Zelenskyy said.

Kyiv's allies, he added, have this information. According to him, until the Ukrainian Defense Forces have 128 fighters, the country will not be able to match the enemy in the sky.

"It will be difficult," the president stated.

He also thanked the United States for the new Patriot air defense systems. However, he emphasized that they are not enough: this was demonstrated by Russia's latest attack on Kyiv, which was considered to be protected.

"Thank you for the decision on additional systems. They will certainly help. But this is not enough, it is never enough," Zelenskyy said, recalling another horrific war crime committed by Russians on July 8.

He explained that Russian troops are using various types of new weapons. Ukraine and its partners, the president added, must also move forward, and "take serious steps on air defense of various types."

As reported by OBOZ.UA, after the massive Russian attack on Ukraine on July 8, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that F-16s would definitely come to Ukraine. The exact timeframe is not disclosed, as the aggressor country is carefully hunting for weapons supplied to Kyiv by its partners.

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