Ukraine will verify all agreements on air defense missiles and ammunition for F-16s

Ukraine will conduct an urgent review of the implementation of all agreements with partners on the supply of missiles for air defense and ammunition for F-16 fighter jets. Some of the deliveries already agreed at the leadership level have not yet been implemented at the operational level.

This was announced by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a conference call with military, government officials, and heads of services responsible for critical infrastructure protection. The statement was published on his Telegram.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the Office of the President are to separately check the agreements on providing F-16s with necessary ammunition, as well as the supply of air defense missiles - for each country, agreement, and assistance package.

Zelenskyy instructed to prepare an updated delivery schedule by October 2. According to him, it is especially important for Ukraine to receive additional missiles during October.

The President noted that some agreements that had already been reached directly with the leaders of partner states have not yet been fulfilled at the working level. He separately thanked Germany, Norway, and Finland for their readiness to accelerate work.

The need to accelerate supplies coincides with the availability problems of Ukrainian F-16s. As previously reported by Kurs Ukrainy with reference to The Wall Street Journal, more than half of the F-16s transferred to Ukraine may be temporarily unavailable for combat missions due to delays in maintenance in Europe. In some cases, scheduled maintenance takes dozens of weeks.

The problem is exacerbated by Russia's increasing use of jet drones. According to WSJ, in September Russian forces used about 2,000 such drones against Ukraine, compared to about 350 in June. F-16s remain one of the means of intercepting high-speed drones and cruise missiles, so the capabilities of air defense are simultaneously affected by the availability of the aircraft themselves and the stocks of air-to-air missiles.

Ukraine already has a number of agreements on strengthening aviation and air defense. In particular, in September Canada approved a package that includes Patriot missiles and ammunition for F-16s.

A separate part of the conference call concerned the protection of critical infrastructure. According to Zelenskyy, the authorities have adjusted the response system to Russian attacks on Kyiv and determined the necessary redistribution of resources. The President stated that all planned protective measures must be fully implemented.

This is happening against the backdrop of regular attacks on the capital, including with the use of new high-speed drones. On October 1 alone, in the Solomianskyi district, a Russian UAV hit a school building. At the time of the attack, children were in a shelter. On the same day, two drones hit near the support part of the Southern Bridge, which caused metro and ground public transport to be temporarily suspended. The type of drones in these two episodes was not officially specified.

In addition, the authorities are introducing weekly monitoring of the implementation of resilience plans in regions and key cities. Zelenskyy reported delays in some communities and instructed the military command and government officials to prepare additional solutions for the safe conduct of the necessary work.

Based on materials from: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, KMDA