To successfully advance on the front, Ukraine needs a lot of shells and necessarily F-16 fighters - Zaluzhnyi

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that to successfully advance on the front, Ukraine needs many shells and necessarily F-16 fighters.

The general said this in an interview to The Washington Post, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"Let’s just say the number of aircraft that are on duty near our western borders is twice as much as the number of Russian aircraft devastating our positions. Why can’t we take at least a third of it from there and move it here? Nobody is saying that tomorrow we should rearm and get 120 planes. Why? I do not need 120 planes. I’m not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough. But they are needed. Because there is no other way. Because the enemy is using a different generation of aviation. It’s like we’d go on the offensive with bows and arrows now, and everyone would say, ‘Are you crazy?’ But with this question, ‘No, no’,” Zaluzhnyi said.

According to him, fighters are needed in particular in order to break the land corridor between mainland Russia and temporarily occupied Crimea, which the invaders created in the south of Ukraine.

Severing this link would deal a significant blow to Russia's ability to replenish its troops.

He also noted that now on the battlefield Leopard tanks are a target for the enemy, because a lot of shells are needed.

“We didn’t get Leopards to ride in parades or have politicians or celebrities take pictures with them. They came here for the war. And a Leopard on the battlefield is not a Leopard but a target,” the general said.

He noted that Ukraine needs aviation and more shells.

On the needs of the Armed Forces, Zaluzhnyi is constantly communicating with Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“We have an agreement: 24/7, we’re in touch. So, sometimes I can call up and say, ‘If I don’t get 100,000 shells in a week, 1,000 people will die. Step into my shoes. But it’s not Milley who decides whether we get planes or not. It’s just that while that decision is being made, in the obvious situation, a lot of people die every day — a lot. Just because no decision has been made yet,” Zaluzhnyi concluded.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Netherlands is pressing the United States to send F-16 to Ukraine.