Lithuania are urging the West to cross the “red line” and supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets which comes as Kyiv has said that “seriously” need “up to five brigades” as their technology is “inferior.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on Western forces to “act without delay” as Ukraine are in the “crucial stage of the war.”
The spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Yuriy Ignat, told the French TV channel La Chaîne Info by having the F-16s this will enable them to strike both ground and air targets.
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Ignat said, “We are inferior in technology. Therefore, the need is serious. It is necessary to create up to five brigades of tactical aviation with one type of multi-purpose aircraft of the Western model. What type it will be, is now being determined.
“Currently, the F-16 is the most likely candidate to replace the old Soviet aircraft, because there are certain objective reasons for this. And this is not a one-man decision, constant consultations are held with partners.”
He added, “It is clear that we will not be able to get everything at once, but a phased transition to a new multi-role aircraft is a requirement of time.”
The Lithuanian President said, “I have seen many red lines that have been drawn, and sometimes I even get the impression that these red lines are not drawn by us, Western countries, democracies, but by the terrorist state Russia, which is trying to draw them through fear and threats. And it is trying to impose.
“I’m not talking only about tanks. Once upon a time, the status of a candidate for joining the EU was a taboo, a red line. I remember it well.
“This Rubicon has been crossed, so I really hope that this red line – if it really exists, and I think it only exists in our heads – will also be crossed.
“Because fighter jets and long-range missiles are an essential military aid, and at this crucial stage of the war, when the tipping point is about to happen, it is vital that we act without delay.
“So my answer to your question is that these red lines must be crossed.”
