Ukraine Doesn’t Have Enough F-16s to Guarantee Air Safety – Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the number of F-16 fighters received by Ukraine from its partners is not enough to guarantee full air protection.

He said this during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“We are very grateful to all partners for coordination and for the fact that we have such an air fleet. Or at least, we do not yet have all the aircraft we need. But we know that they will not be enough to ensure our safety in the sky,” Zelensky noted.

He added that the issue of security guarantees should be resolved on an Article-5-like basis, that is, by analogy with NATO’s Article 5 on collective defense.

The President also stressed that this is not only about air support, but also about financing and developing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the Ukrainian army and defense infrastructure are already largely integrated into the Alliance system, and cooperation with NATO will continue.

Let us recall that on Friday, August 22, a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte took place in Kiev .

Earlier , during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin suggested China as a country that could provide security guarantees for Ukraine.