Zelensky pleads for more F-16 fighter jets and air defences from West to protect from Russian missile attacks

Russian troops are regrouping in the Kharkiv region and preparing for a fresh assault, reports suggest

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Kyiv (AP)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for Western nations to send more Patriot air defence systems and F-16 fighter jets to protect the country from Russian missile attacks.

After months of calls from Kyiv, the first F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and will be flying sorties this summer, the White House confirmed at a Nato summit in Washington earlier this month.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Zelensky welcomed the package, without saying exactly how many jets it will be made up of.

About 85 of the combat aircraft have been committed to Kyiv, but many will take a significant amount of time to reach the battlefield. Ukraine has suggested it needs as many as 128 F-16s to properly battle the aerial superiority of Moscow.

Mr Zelensky said: “There will not be enough [F-16s]. They will certainly strengthen us, but will there be enough of them to fight at a level with the Russian air force? I think they will not be enough. We are anticipating a larger quantity.”

Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands, and Mette Frederiksen, his counterpart from Denmark, said last week that the “transfer process” of F-16s to Kyiv was underway after months of pilot training and political negotiations. Ukraine also signalled more may be to come at the end of the year.

Ukrainian soldiers near the front line in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine (The Associated Press)

Mr Zelensky also said Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defence systems to fully defend its airspace and protect the entire country from Russian missile attacks. The Ukrainian president has been making such calls for months – although not with a number attached. He is clearly getting frustrated at the pace Western allies are moving, as Moscow steps up its rocket attacks on cities across the country and is making gains on the ground in eastern areas.

The Ukrainian president claimed the six-month delay in military assistance from the US, thanks to domestic political squabbles in Congress, led to his troops losing “the initiative" on the front line and they have since been scrambling to block Russian offensives across the northeastern Kharkiv region and the eastern Donetsk region. But Mr Zelensky did say that Ukraine’s defences have been bolstered by Western arms deliveries in recent weeks.

The plea from Mr Zelensky comes as reports suggest Russian troops are regrouping in the Kharkiv region and preparing for a renewed offensive around the city of Vovchansk. It is an area that Russia has pushed hard to take control of, with Ukraine managing to retake some positions after an initial push by Putin’s forces in May and June. Yuriy Povkh, spokesperson for the Kharkiv regional military unit, told Hromadske Radio that Russia launched 17 airstrikes against Ukrainian positions and struck targets with kamikaze drones.

The Russian army is redeploying its brigade from the Kherson region for its Vovchansk offensive as Russian losses in the region are mounting, Ukraine’s Kharkiv Operational Tactical Group said. The Institute for the Study of War, which monitors Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which began in February 2022 – said in its latest report: “The Russian military command is reportedly regrouping troops in an effort to continue offensive operations in the Kharkiv direction.”

Colonel Vitaly Sarantsev, a spokesperson of Ukraine’s Kharkiv Operational Tactical Group, said on national TV: “The situation is quite difficult at the moment, the Russian occupiers [have not stopped] trying to dislodge our defenders from their positions, they are regrouping. In the area of Morokhovets and Krasne settlements, in order to continue the assault, the enemy is moving personnel to the Hlyboke settlement area.”

Commenting on other issues, Mr Zelensky said Russia should be present at a second international gathering to discuss peace. Russia was absent from the first meeting in Switzerland last month. There is no date for a second gathering. He added that a Ukrainian government reshuffle is on the cards. "We are discussing various changes with some ministers," Mr Zelensky said.

He also said that Ukrainian efforts to mobilise more troops are going according to plan, though Ukraine does not have enough training grounds and 14 brigades have not yet received promised Western weapons.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian drones targeted a coastal area of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea overnight and struck an electrical substation in Russia’s Lipetsk region, according to reports. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed head of Sevastopol, claimed that Russian defences shot down at least one drone over Cape Fiolent on Crimea’s southern coast.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report