Zelensky on fighter jets for Ukraine: First, we need to prepare personnel, infrastructure
President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a press conference on the sidelines of the Crimea Platform summit, answering questions about the efficiency of deliveries of aircraft and long-range missiles, reports Ukrinform.
"We already have all types of missiles, even on our planes we found an opportunity and use Storm Shadow, SCALP, and other types of missiles. Therefore, I mean that the issue here now is not only about missiles. The question is in the fighters, in our powerful presence in the sky. The arrangements were as follows: we started talking with Sweden, our technical team arrived, they will check for five weeks as regards the Gripens (multipurpose fighter jets - ed.), how they operate. After that, if it is technically completely suitable for us and if the Swedish government is ready to discuss it, after that we will agree on a training mission. This is exactly how we worked on the F-16s. This is such a difficult path," Zelensky said, adding that all the details regarding the Gripens were discussed, and the command of the Air Force began to study the technical features.
Informing about the delivery of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine, the head of state said: "As for the F-16, as the main aircraft of the future fleet of Ukraine, we have a clear agreement with Denmark, and we will have 19 fighter jets, they will go through different stages. Unfortunately, all this is not fast. Why? Because today all this depends not only on Denmark, it depends on us. We must provide our pilots, specialists, engineers", the president stressed.
He recalled that dozens of technical personnel serve several pilots, so the topic of ground maintenance staff is quite acute.
The head of state also noted that infrastructure preparation is no less important.
"Separately, we will build the infrastructure for modern fighters. We must understand that our infrastructure is not modern, it’s not for the F-16s. We will build it as soon as possible, this is our task, today it is the task of the Air Force so they will deal with it," Zelensky said.
The head of state recalled that Ukraine had reached an agreement on the delivery of 42 aircraft.
"The situation with the Netherlands – we agreed with Mark Rutte that we can count on 42 planes. Of those, we will have people trained on 18, and when they’ve been trained, we will be able to get those 18. The rest we will be able to get as soon as our pilots are ready. In general, this is a very serious number of planes," he concluded.
In addition, according to Zelensky, Greece will help Ukraine train pilots and will provide training sites.
He recalled that earlier, Ukraine counted on only 12 planes.
"We need platforms and we need planes, but it is very important that we send pilots (for training – ed.) This is not an easy task for us because our country is at war, so if you send someone, it means that someone is not fighting in the sky for Ukraine. It is necessary to find a balance in this," Zelensky emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the spokesman for the Air Force Command, Yuriy Ihnat, said that the Force was already working on upgrading the fleet of aircraft and replacing them with more modern ones. First of all, this is about the F-16s, while the involvement of Sweden’s Gripens is currently being studied.
Photo: President’s Office
