"Unfortunately, it is already clear that we will not be able to protect Ukraine with F-16s throughout the fall and this winter," Ignat said during a marathon of all-Ukrainian broadcasters. "There were high hopes for these aircraft, that these could really become part of the air defense."
The spokesperson added that Ukrainian pilots would be trained to pilot the aircraft in the near future because "the issue has moved forward." At the same time, Ignat noted it was necessary to strengthen Ukraine's means of defense against drone attacks, adding that, in his opinion, Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defenses.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov earlier said Ukraine's military needs aircraft, preferably F-16s, that would be able to become an element of air defenses and would strike targets on the ground if necessary.