Kuleba reveals which countries' fighter jets Ukraine is counting on
Kuleba and other Ukrainian diplomats are working on creating an aviation coalition (Photo:МЗС України/Facebook)
Ukraine hope to get fighter jets from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with the Funke Mediengruppe and Ouest-France newspapers.
Kuleba was speaking on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, German television news program Tagesschau reported on Feb. 17.
"These countries have the highest production capacity and the largest aircraft fleets," the Ukrainian minister said.
Kuleba added that the planes can be used to shoot down enemy missiles and are also important for supporting counter-offensive operations of the Ukrainian army.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the United Kingdom on Feb. 8 and called for the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine. The media reported that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had instructed the country’s defense minister, Ben Wallace, to look into what aircraft London could send to Kyiv.
A final decision on sending fighters has not yet been made. Kyiv has also made an official request for fighters from the Netherlands.
After his address to the European Parliament and the EU summit, President Zelenskyy said that there were "certain positive decisions regarding the fighter jets that remained behind the scenes."
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is working to acquire the first squadron of foreign combat aircraft. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that some of Ukraine's European partners have already "taken up the issue of fighter jets."
U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously said they would not transfer the aircraft to Ukraine. Poland stressed it was ready to act only with broad Western support.
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