Ukraine's Defense Minister Says F-16 Fighter Jets Will Arrive Soon, But Much Other Aid Is Delayed

President Zelensky sat in the cockpit of the F-16 fighter jet during a visit to Denmark. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Ukraine's Defense Minister said his country would soon receive long-awaited F-16 fighter jets, but about half of the foreign military aid it desperately needed was late in arriving.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv that Russia was deploying more troops and equipment to the front lines, more than 27 months after its full-scale invasion.

Kyiv troops are said to have succeeded in stabilizing a new front in the northeastern region of Kharkiv that Russia attacked earlier this month. However, Defense Minister Umerov said Moscow was preparing new efforts.

"Their goal is to open a new front in the north to start using all their manpower, firepower, against us, they continue their goal of destroying the country," he said, as reported by Reuters, May 29.

"We are defending, but of course we need more weapons, we need more firepower, we need long-range missiles, so that they don't enter our country," he continued.

Defense Minister Umerov said he hoped the F-16 fighter jets would be delivered "hopefully very, very soon".

When asked how much Kyiv expected, he said in English: "We need as much as we can get."

"At this stage, we are focused on training our personnel, pilots, we are focusing on infrastructure, we are focusing on bringing in operations and maintenance teams and we are working on modernization or bringing in more platforms," ​​he explained.

He added that Ukraine also continues to increase production of weapons and drones, as well as its electronic warfare capabilities.

Defense Minister Umerov further said that Ukraine was grateful for the military assistance and weapons supplied by its partners. However, only half of the promised deliveries arrived on time. Any delay would benefit Ukraine's much larger and better equipped enemy, with a frontline stretching 1,200 km (750 miles).

In fact, before this month's crossing into the northern part of the Kharkiv region, capturing border villages and forcing thousands of civilians to flee, Russian troops had been slowly advancing for months in the eastern Donetsk region.

"Time is of the essence and, to repel attacks, we need to make (deliveries) on time," said Defense Minister Umerov.

Defense Minister Umerov reiterated that Kyiv is determined to liberate all of its territory up to the internationally recognized borders in 1991, including Crimea.

However, the main goal of the Ukrainian military in the coming months is to defend its defense lines and suppress the enemy while increasing Ukraine's military capabilities in the air, sea and land.