Pentagon reveals what the AFU's main needs are on the frontline

Lloyd Austin, head of the US Department of Defence, said this during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

In Lloyd's opinion, what Ukraine needs most now is reinforced air defence, long-range weapons and armoured vehicles. The head of the Defence Ministry also returned to the issue of the F16s. He said that these aircraft "at this stage of the war" will not help Ukrainians.

The Ukrainians' main need now is air defence. This is a critical need on the battlefield. They also need long-range weapons and armoured vehicles. And we are providing them with a significant package of such capabilities. We also train them and guarantee the provision of the weapons provided.

Austin added that even if a positive decision is made on the F16s, it would take about 18 months to provide them and train pilots. Although Western officials had also previously said it would take the Ukrainians a year to master the Patriot air defence systems. However, it turned out that our military needs only a few weeks for that.

It is worth recalling that Austin had previously stated that Ukraine, by significantly depleting Russian forces and Western weapons, has a "very good chance" of carrying out a successful counteroffensive in the spring of 2023.