Ukraine pushes for Western F-16 fighter jets

Ukraine will push for Western Fourth Generation fighter jets such as the US F-16 after securing main battle tanks, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister said on Wednesday, Ukraine won a huge boost for its troops as Germany announced plans to provide heavy tanks to Kyiv on Wednesday, ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock on the issue. The United States is poised to make a similar announcement.

The fighter jets will be the next big hurdle, according to Yuriy Sak, who advises Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov by phone.

Ukraine's Air Force has a fleet of Soviet-era fighter jets that came off the assembly line before Kyiv declared independence more than 31 years ago. The warplanes are used to attack Russian positions and intercept missions.

If we get them Western fighter jets the advantages will be immense. It's not just F-16 s US multirole fighter jets fourth generation aircraft, this is what we want. Western military support has been vital for Kyiv and has changed rapidly during the war. Before the invasion, even the idea of providing lethal aid to Ukraine was highly controversial but Western supplies have since shattered taboo after taboo.

They didn't want to give us heavy artillery, and then they did. They didn't want to give us tanks, now they're giving us tanks. There is nothing left that we will not get, aside from nuclear weapons, according to Sak.