Kyiv (AP) – Kyiv and its allies are facilitating talks over Ukraine’s demands for long-range missiles they say are necessary to prevent Russia from destroying Ukrainian cities, Volodymyr Zelensky says. A senior adviser to the president said on Saturday.
Ukraine has been promised main battle tanks from the West and is looking for fighters to repel the slowly advancing Russian and pro-Moscow forces along parts of the front line.
Presidential aide Mikhaylo Podlyak told Ukraine’s Freedom TV channel that “to significantly reduce the main armament of the Russian army, the artillery used on the front lines today, the supply depots of the Russian army will be needed. We need missiles that can destroy the He said he has more than 100 artillery camps in the Russian-controlled Crimea.
“So the negotiations are already underway. Second, negotiations are accelerating,” he said, without elaborating.
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Zelensky said Ukraine is trying to forestall Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians.
“Ukraine needs long-range missiles…to deprive the occupiers of the opportunity to place rocket launchers far from the front lines and destroy Ukrainian cities,” he said in a video speech that evening. rice field.
Zelensky said Ukraine needs US-made ATACMS missiles with a range of 185 miles (297 km). Washington has so far refused to provide weapons.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian Air Force denied a newspaper report that it intended to acquire 24 fighter jets from the allies, saying negotiations were ongoing, Ukrainian online outlet Babel said.
Spanish newspaper El Pais quoted Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Inat as saying that Ukraine would initially deploy two squadrons of 12 aircraft each, preferably Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters. said he wanted
But Inat said in a statement to Babel that his comments at Friday’s media briefing had been misunderstood.
“Ukraine is only at the stage of negotiations on aircraft. The model of the plane and its number are currently being determined,” he said.
At a briefing on Friday, Ihnat said the F-16 could be the best option for a multirole fighter to replace the current fleet of aging Soviet-era fighters.
He also said the allies don’t like public speculation about jets, he told Ukraine’s Interfax news agency.
White House Vice President John Feiner said Thursday that the US would discuss the idea of deploying jets “very carefully” with Kyiv and its allies.
Germany’s defense minister this week ruled out the idea of sending jets to Ukraine.
