Zelensky says waiting for fighter jets is like mother after school

On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked his allies for large numbers of Western fighter jets as he seeks to fend off the full-scale Russian invasion launched more than two years ago.

Ukraine is hoping to receive the first individual F-16 aircraft this summer, but his country needs at least 128 fighter jets, Zelensky said during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Foundation in Washington.

Russia was able to deploy 300 aircraft a day to attack Ukraine, he said.

"You know, we always wait. Just like my mum used to wait for me after school and I always found a reason to come later. It's the same, only much more serious," Zelensky said, according to Ukrainian media reports

With the approval of the United States as the maker of the jets, the Netherlands and Denmark want to supply Ukraine with F-16s. Ukrainian pilots and ground crews have been receiving training for this type of aircraft for months. However, the jets have not yet arrived in Ukraine.

Their main purpose is to prevent Russian aircraft from dropping bombs unhindered.

The discussion is only ever about 10 or 20 aircraft, Zelensky said. "Even if there are 50, that's nothing. They [the Russians] have 300," he said. "Until we have 128 aircraft, we won't be able to compete with them in the sky." He did not give any further details on this figure.