'Give Ukraine Weapons, You Don't Have to Fight for Us' Says Air Force
After more than a month, Russia has failed to seize any major Ukrainian city, but the conflict remains deadly and has killed thousands of people.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman, Colonel Yuri Ignat, told to Reuters on Saturday (March 26) the country's pilots had trained for years and conducted joint exercises with U.S. pilots precisely because "we understood that there could be such a scenario". Ukraine now needs fighter jets such as American F-15s and F-16s to supplement Ukraine's ageing Soviet-era MiG-29s and Sukhoi planes, he said, in order to overcome Russia's numerical and technological superiority in the air.
"We are fighting with the equipment of the '70s and '80s, they are fighting with the equipment of 2010 and later," Ignat said.
"We would be grateful for the Soviet-made equipment offered to us by the countries of Central Europe which still have it. But it will not be enough," he said, referring to the offer by neighbouring Poland earlier this month to transfer its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. base in Germany as a way to replenish Ukraine's air force in its defence against invading Russian forces.
The United States rejected the offer by Poland.
“Give Ukraine weapons, you don't have to fight for us. We don't ask to close the sky anymore. Give us weapons, we will defend ourselves,” Ignat said.
A Ukrainian fighter pilot, known by his Air Force call sign “Juice”, spoke to Reuters from the cockpit of his plane.
“We are taught that we need to be very creative. We need to be tactically flexible,” he said.
“This jet is very capable. It's very manoeuvrable. And everyone just love loves it. But unfortunately, now it's not - it is absolutely not - effective against Russian jets, Russian fighter jets,” he said.
“The main problem for us is not the tactics. It's just zero equipment…the problem is technology,” he added.
Missile attacks have been a feature of Russia's invasion. The bombardment has hit military targets as well as residential areas, schools and hospitals in Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv and the besieged port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Moscow denies it is targeting civilians.
Russia says the operation was necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia while Russian speakers were being persecuted in Ukraine.
