US F-16 jets due to arrive in Ukraine 'are no longer relevant', Kyiv military official says: 'Every weapon has its right time. We needed them in 2023, they're not right for 2024. We need shells and rockets'

American-made F-16 fighter jets set to arrive in Ukraine this summer are 'no longer relevant' to the war, a senior Ukrainian military official has stated, adding that 'shells and rockets' are what's needed in 2024.

The Ukrainian Air Force is expected to take a delivery of the supersonic multirole fighter aircrafts in July, as pilots have been trained and the war-torn country's airfields prepared.

Before their arrival, the F-16's were thought to be the war-winning weapon that could tilt the balance in the war with Russia in Ukraine's favour.

'Often, we just don't get the weapons systems at the time we need them – they come when they're no longer relevant,' the high-ranking officer told Politico.

'Every weapon has its own right time. F-16s were needed in 2023; they won't be right for 2024.'

A Ukrainian military official said that F-16 fighter jets are 'no longer relevant' for Ukraine as he urged the West to send 'shells and rockets' instead

The Ukrainian Air Force is expected to take a delivery of the supersonic multirole fighter aircrafts in July

It comes after Vladimir Putin warned just days ago that any F-16 jets donated to Ukraine will be shot down

 US Congress have blocked a $60billion military aid package which has ultimately led to severe shortages of ammunition.

This in turn has led to Russian President Vladimir Putin's army being able to push back Kyiv's forces along almost the entire 600-mile front line.

This has increased calls for more traditional weapons, such as air defence missiles, howitzers, and shells.

'We need howitzers and shells, hundreds of thousands of shells, and rockets,' the officer said, estimating that Ukraine needed a staggering total of four million shells and two million drones.

The military official reassured that they have communicated to the US that their forces have all the combat experience required, as well as a battlefield understanding of the war - all they need are the West's resources.

It comes just days after Putin warned any F-16 jets donated to Ukraine will be shot down.

'If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield,' Putin told Russian air force pilots during a tour of a training facility in Torzhok, in Russia's Tver region.

'We will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers.'

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, has called for Kyiv's Western allies to prioritise sending more US made Patriot defence missiles to repel Russian airstrikes made on their cities.

 Ahead of his arrival in Brussels to mark the 75th anniversary of NATO, Kuleba said: 'Seven Patriot systems would be optimal, but let me be modest.

'With five Patriot batteries, we can defend the main industrial cities against Russian missiles'.

Along with the US, the Netherlands and Germany have also sent several of the systems which have an estimated cost of around $1billion each. 

'And once we've taken the threat away, the Patriots go back to where they were stationed,' he added.

Kuleba has also demanded for 'all Patriot batteries around the world that can be provided to Ukraine must be delivered to Ukraine'.

He added that the country is currently the only one in the world that is forced to defend itself against ballistic missile attacks almost every day.

Following his meeting with his Polish counterpart, Radek Sikorski, in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers are now discussing a $100billion, five-year military aid package for Ukraine.

 Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary-general, told reporters on Wednesday: 'What is obvious is that we need new and more money for Ukraine and we need it over many years.

'That's one of the reasons why the Ukrainians have to ration the number of artillery shells, why they have problems standing up against the Russian force with overwhelming military power because they're able to outgun them with more ammunition and more artillery.'

The Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky has warned that tyrant Putin is making preparations for a major offensive in June and is planning on mobilising 300,000 troops.

High-ranking officers also told Politico that Putin is set to launch a 'big attack around August' but admitted it could come even sooner than that, which could throw Ukraine into crisis is they are underprepared.

One of the military sources, who remained anonymous, told the news website: 'There’s nothing that can help Ukraine now because there are no serious technologies able to compensate Ukraine for the large mass of troops Russia is likely to hurl at us.

'We don’t have those technologies, and the West doesn’t have them as well in sufficient numbers'.

In a bid to overcome the potentially large scale obstacle, Zelensky has lowered the military draft age from 27 to 25 with the hopes of boosting Ukraine's fighting force.