A top Ukrainian air commander said Ukraine was in dire need of F-16 fighter jets, which he described as "four or five times" more effective than the Soviet-era planes currently used by Ukraine. Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the most senior commanders in the Air Force, said that while donations of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets by allies were an "important step," the planes did not fully meet Ukraine's battlefield requirements.

NATO members Poland and Slovakia recently began to hand over MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, as Kyiv prepares for a much-vaunted counter-offensive to retake territory occupied by Russia. But Holubtsov said that while Soviet-era warplanes were better than nothing, they would not be able to fully counteract Russia's vast air force. "The F-16 is a fighter that has become a multirole aircraft which can fulfil the entire spectrum of airborne tasks. The MiG-29 unfortunately, is (an aircraft) from the last century," he said on national television.

On a visit to Warsaw on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenski said he believed Poland would take a leading role in forming a "coalition" of Western powers supplying warplanes to Ukraine. Warsaw helped galvanise support for supplies of tanks earlier this year. During Zelenskiy's visit, Poland pledged 10 further MiG-29s to Ukraine on top of the four already provided.

Any coalition of F-16 donors would likely be reliant on backing from the US, by far the largest operator and builder of the planes. Washington has ruled out sending F-16 jets to Ukraine for now, and US officials have estimated the most expeditious time needed for training and delivery at 18 months.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP