Following a meeting on the development of the Air Force, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is necessary to speed up the modernization of Ukraine’s military aviation system. He instructed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to “implement defined organizational changes.”
The head of the Ukrainian state said this in a post on social media platform X, Ukrinform reports.
“I held a meeting on the development of our Air Force, primarily Ukrainian military aviation. We have already taken significant steps—we have transitioned to F16s, which are effectively carrying out combat missions for Ukraine. This is a major success of our Armed Forces of Ukraine, one of the fastest transitions to a new type of aircraft among all countries. We also look forward to seeing French fighter jets in our skies, which will undoubtedly strengthen our defense under control of Ukrainian pilots,” Zelensky said.
He noted that now “we must accelerate the modernization of the Ukrainian military aviation system”.
“This means new personnel approaches, organizational changes, and much greater attention of the command staff to pilots, engineers, and those who contribute their knowledge and energy to the development of the Air Force. Liliya Averyanova, the mother of the Hero of Ukraine Major Andrii Pilschykov (“Juice”), also took part in the meeting,” the President said.
He instructed the Defense Minister to implement the defined organizational changes.
“We discussed prospects for cooperation with partners and are working on personnel matters to strengthen both the Air Force command and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense,” Zelensky said.
As reported by Ukrinform, the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC), where Ukrainian pilots undergo training, is now fully operational with its complete fleet of aircraft. This was made possible by the Netherlands, which donated all 18 of these fighter jets to this center in Romania.
Photo: President’s Office
Source: Zelensky: We must accelerate modernization of military aviation system
