Ukrainian official Yuriy Sak revealed Wednesday that the country now is focused on securing modern fighter jets after the U.S. and Germany pledged to send needed aid.
Sak, an adviser to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, said Kyiv was hopeful of receiving American F-16s to accompany its 31 M1 Abrams tanks and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
"The next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets," Sak told Reuters. "If we get them, the advantages on the battlefield will be just immense. ... It's not just F-16s: fourth generation aircraft, this is what we want."
In an interview with The Hill, Sak said Kyiv had been seeking the fighter jets since the outset of the conflict last February, saying, "Every type of weapon we request, we needed yesterday.
"We will do everything possible to ensure Ukraine gets fourth-generation fighter jets as soon as possible," he said.
Sak told Reuters that Western powers initially hesitated to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine.
"They didn't want to give us heavy artillery, then they did. They didn't want to give us HIMARs ... then they did. They didn't want to give us tanks. Now they're giving us tanks," Sak said. "Apart from nuclear weapons, there is nothing left that we will not get."
His comments arrived the same day German Chancellor Olaf Scholz approved sending Ukraine 80 German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks, a process the country's officials appeared to delay initially.
"It is right that we did not let ourselves get carried away; but that on such a matter, we rely on this close cooperation and also maintain it," Scholz said in his speech revealing the decision.