Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksei Reznikov has acknowledged that Western fighter jets are next on his «wish list» once Germany has unlocked the supply of Leopard battle tanks.
Speaking to CNN, Reznikov said that last Christmas he sent «a wish list to Santa Claus» reflecting Ukraine’s aspirations for fighter jets.
However, he acknowledged that Kiev’s main priority is air defense systems, as these are what will prevent Russia from continuing to carry out air strikes and bombings in the context of a war that has been raging for eleven months.
«We have to close our sky, defend our sky (…) That is the number one priority. After that, we need to get more armed vehicles, tanks, artillery systems, drones, and so on,» he said.
Ukrainian authorities had been pressing Berlin for weeks to unblock the shipment of Leopard battle tanks. However, just hours after Germany gave the ‘green light’, Kiev has now started to focus on fighter jets.
In fact, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba said Wednesday that the international community has «new tasks ahead of it» which include the supply of Western fighter jets, new sanctions and the implementation of the Peace Formula proposed by Kiev.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)