Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the most senior commanders in the air force, said that while donations of Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets by allies were an "important step," the planes did not fully meet Ukraine's battlefield requirements.

NATO members Poland and Slovakia recently began to hand over MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, as Kyiv prepares for a much-vaunted counter-offensive to retake territory occupied by Russia.

But Holubtsov said that while Soviet-era warplanes were better than nothing, they would not be able to fully counteract Russia's vast air force.

"The F-16 is a fighter that has become a multirole aircraft which can fulfil the entire spectrum of airborne tasks. The MiG-29 unfortunately, is [an aircraft] from the last century," he said on national television.

On a visit to Warsaw on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he believed Poland would take a leading role in forming a "coalition" of Western powers supplying warplanes to Ukraine.

Warsaw helped galvanize support for supplies of tanks earlier this year.

During Zelenskiy's visit, Poland pledged 10 further MiG-29s to Ukraine on top of the four already provided.

Any coalition of F-16 Fighting Falcon donors would likely be reliant on backing from the United States, by far the largest operator of the planes manufactured by US defense giant Lockheed Martin.

Washington has ruled out sending F-16 jets to Ukraine for now, and US officials have estimated the most expeditious time needed for training and delivery at 18 months.

Holubtsov said there was a possibility of having foreign pilots fly Ukrainian jets, but that they would only be useful when flying aircraft which they have already been trained on.

He also said that two Ukrainian pilots had undergone tests in the US to assess their skills, which he said were "successful" and could lead to a "significant shortening" of the training time required for Ukrainian pilots.

He did not say how long that revised training time might be.

 

Joint production

In a separate development, Ukraine's state arms producer said on Thursday it would launch joint production of 125-mm rounds for Soviet-era tanks with Polish arms producer Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ).

Ukroboronprom said Poland would become the second NATO member state to help Ukraine produce ammunition as the country battles Russian troops that launched a full-scale invasion more than 13 months ago.

"In line with the agreement, new production lines to produce large numbers of ammunition for 125-mm tank guns are planned," the company said in a statement.

The agreement was signed during President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to Poland on Wednesday.

Ukraine will provide the technology and send its specialists to Polish cities where production facilities will be located given high security risks.

Russia has conducted long-range air strikes on targets in Ukraine throughout the war.

Ukroboronprom's officials have said Russia has constantly attacked arms facilities, forcing it to move production to safer areas.

Ukraine depends heavily on weapons and ammunition supplies from its Western allies during the war. Ukrainian military commanders constantly stress the need for more ammunition at the frontlines.

In February, Ukroboronprom announced it had started producing ammunition with a NATO country in central Europe.

Ukroboronprom, which did not identify the NATO member state, said on Feb. 15 it had started producing 120-mm mortar rounds, ammunition that is in high demand in Ukraine as it battles Russian troops following Moscow's invasion a year ago.