Ukraine needs multi-purpose fighter jets like F-16 to gain advantage over Russia – Ukraine's Air Force spokesman

Supplying Soviet MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine will increase its Air Force’s combat capabilities, but Ukraine desperately needs modern, fourth-generation multi-purpose Western-made jets in order to secure the victory over Russia.

Source: ArmyInform, press service for Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, citing Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Details: When asked to comment on Ukraine’s partners’ willingness to hand over Soviet MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, in light of Poland’s recent announcement, Ihnat stressed that this initiative deserves gratitude.

Still, he argued that Ukraine desperately needs modern, multi-purpose, fourth-generation Western-made jets like the F-16 in order to gain an advantage over Russia in the sky and be able to carry out effective attacks on Russian ground targets.

Quote from Ihnat: "This [the handing over of MiG-29 jets to Ukraine - ed.] will increase our combat capabilities to an extent, since this is the type of aircraft that is already being deployed in daily missions and for that reason sees significant wear and tear. But let’s not forget that these are Soviet aircraft and not modern Western-made jets. So, in a broader sense, they are unlikely to dramatically change the situation on the contact line.

These [Western] countries have most likely upgraded their MiG-29s to a certain extent in order to ensure they are interoperable with other NATO countries. For example, the onboard equipment, communication and friend-or-foe systems would have been modified. But still, this is a Soviet aircraft at its core. To gain an advantage over the enemy, we need modern, multi-purpose Western aircraft."

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