Ukraine needs more high-precision weapons with a range of 200 kilometers to “consolidate” its offensive and defeat Russia, one of the deputy ministers of defense said in Kyiv, according to CNN.

“Ukraine is taking the initiative,” but in order to defeat the Russians, high-precision, long-range weapons are needed, Volodymyr Gavrylov noted in a video posted on the Telegram account of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

• “All our military plans are implemented according to estimates.
• In modern warfare, the main thing is to have situational awareness – to know the position of the enemy and to be able to strike accurately at long distances. That is, to have a weapon capable of hitting the enemy at a distance of up to 200 kilometers,” he said.

The official added that Ukraine will receive aircraft that will primarily protect it from Russian missiles.

“More than a year of war has passed, and we are sure that together with our partners, who provide us with everything we need, we will defeat the Russian invaders,” Gavrilov said.

In May, Britain and the Netherlands formed an “international coalition” to help Ukraine get F-16 fighter jets. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has been fighting to get the F-16s, but allies have been reluctant to speak out over fears they could be used to attack Russian territory, which could spark an escalation between NATO and Russia.

After saying earlier this year that Ukraine did not need fighter jets, US President Joe Biden dropped his objections, signaling to European allies that he would allow Ukraine to receive F-16s.

Last month, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that groups of Ukrainian pilots had been selected for training in Great Britain, where they would learn to fly modern fighter jets.

Putin: The supply of F-16 to Kyiv poses a serious threat of drawing NATO into an armed conflict

If the West helps Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, there will be a “serious danger of drawing NATO into an armed conflict” with Russia and the planes will be destroyed, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin warned on Friday, suggesting that Moscow could strike bases where where these planes are located, even if they are located outside of Ukraine, reports the TASS agency.

F-16 aircraft will suffer the fate of Western tanks, Vladimir Putin said on Friday. “Tanks are on fire, including Leopards.” And the F-16 will burn in the same way. There is no doubt about it,” the Kremlin leader said at an economic forum in St. Petersburg.

Russia will consider options to destroy these planes, even if they are based outside of Ukraine. “If they are stationed at air bases outside of Ukraine and are being used in hostilities, we will have to look at how and where we can target these assets that are being used in hostilities against us,” Putin said.

• “This is a serious danger of further involvement of NATO in an armed conflict,” he warned.

The statements regarding the F-16 aircraft came after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that Ukrainian pilots had already begun training to fly such aircraft.

On the other hand, in an interview with RT, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov said, for his part, that Russia is ready to “give a military-technical response” if F-16 fighter jets appear in the sky of Ukraine. He claims that Moscow is concerned about the possibility of the F-16 aircraft transferred to Ukraine carrying nuclear weapons. Lavrov says he has taken action and has informed the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, who are also nuclear powers and whose experts hold regular discussions. (Source: News.ro)