Zelenskyy says Ukraine used F-16s against Russian air attacks

KYIV (AFP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that his military deployed Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to down drones and missiles that Russia fired in recent attacks.

Zelenskyy announced earlier this month that Ukraine had received the first batch of the fighter jets promised by Western countries, declining to say how many had been delivered.

“We destroyed already some missiles and drones using the F-16,” Zelenskyy said in English at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday without elaborating.

He said at the press conference that Ukraine still needed more of the jets.

He told AFP in May that Kyiv needed at least 120 to achieve “parity” with Russia.

For more than two years, Ukraine had pleaded with its Western partners for the aircraft — long considered the crown jewel in the sprawling list of military hardware Kyiv has sought.