Ukraine is negotiating the acquisition of various fighter jets, - Umyerov

Defence Minister Rustem Umyerov announced this during a telemarathon broadcast «United News» in response to a question about whether there were optimistic prospects regarding the number of available F-16 aircraft.

«At the moment, we have information from our partners about their commitments (agreements or promises to do something in the future. - ed.) regarding the F-16s. These commitments also pertain to the Mirages, consultations continue on the Gripens, and consultations on the Eurofighters are also ongoing. So, this is a very good list of platforms. We are discussing when exactly their deliveries will begin. Soon we will have results to announce. I hope we will provide details soon», - noted Umyerov.

According to him, the Ukrainian authorities will work on strengthening their air defense capabilities in this regard.

«We have presented all our needs to our partners, explained the very high sensitivity of this issue. We are now working to make the necessary upgrades and modernizations so that deliveries can begin as soon as possible», - Umyerov said.

The minister emphasized that Russia uses up to 300 aircraft and up to 300 helicopters.

«That is why we explain to our partners how many brigades or air wings we need. Furthermore, we argue for which platforms we need. In this context, last year we focused on the training of pilots, acquiring the necessary platforms, and developing the relevant infrastructure», - said the head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.

In his opinion, this year the emphasis will be on increasing the number of fighter jets to gain air superiority over the enemy.

«These processes are already established but need scaling. And we are working on that now. We already have solutions that we are working on together with our partners», - the minister concluded.