Providing Ukraine with F-16s Will Stop Russian Blockade of Ports – Ukraine's Foreign Minister

Russian will stop blocking Ukrainian port when Ukraine receives its first squadrons of F-16 fighter jets.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his speech at the meeting of the European Union's Council of Foreign Ministers called on EU member states to actively work together to deprive Russia of its leverage over Ukrainian maritime exports.

According to Kuleba, the ideal scenario would be a complete cessation of the Russian naval blockade on Ukrainian ports. He stated, "This will be possible when Ukraine receives its first squadrons of F-16s, which will be able to patrol the skies and maritime routes."

The Minister expressed gratitude to those EU countries that are already actively contributing to the aviation coalition and urged them to implement all procedures as quickly as possible.

Kuleba also urgently called on the European Union and its member states to expand all available avenues for Ukrainian grain exports and deemed any restrictions on grain transportation as unacceptable.

As previously reported, thirty members of the European Parliament joined a call to swiftly provide Ukraine with fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets, with Ukrainian pilots scheduled to start training in August.