Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on partners to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s as soon as possible.
He made the call in Odesa, where he met with ministers of Northern Europe and the Baltic states.
"We talked about the protection of Ukrainian skies. There was a good briefing by Navy Commander Neyizhpapa, where he spoke about the importance of F-16s and Western aircraft in general to ensure security over the Black Sea. And I asked my colleagues, as friends of Ukraine, as countries that operate modern Western combat aircraft, in particular the F-16, to make every effort to speed up the decision to start training Ukrainian pilots on aircraft, especially the F-16," Kuleba said.
He noted that this would lead to decisions to provide such aircraft to Ukraine.
"We must throw Russia out of the sky. To do this, we need not only air defence systems, which our friends have already shared with us, but also combat aircraft. We need combat aircraft to cover our brigades that will launch a counteroffensive, and we need combat aircraft to protect the Black Sea and the surrounding areas. I have a feeling that my colleagues are favourably disposed to this issue," Kuleba said.
The minister also said that the delegation visited the port to get acquainted with the dynamics of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the president's initiative Grain from Ukraine.
"Here we have true friends and partners who will make every effort to ensure that grain and other goods from Ukraine go through Odesa and, in the future, through other ports to the world markets," Kuleba said.
He added that this is necessary for our economy and for control over food prices around the world.
Zelenskyy recently called on Britain to lead the formation of an "air coalition" for Ukraine. The president discussed strengthening defence support for Ukraine with Rishi Sunak's adviser.