President Biden on Monday flatly ruled out providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in its war against Russia, whilst Moscow has stepped up its attacks to attempt to break Kyiv’s resolve.
When asked on the White House about whether the US would send the warplanes, Biden told reporters, “No.”
Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies to provide fourth-generation fighter planes, after securing pledges from the US and Germany last week to send modern battle tanks after months of tough negotiations.
A Ukrainian air force spokesman previously said it could take its pilots about six months to coach on fighter jets similar to the F-16, which also pose significant logistical challenges related to maintenance.
The unequivocal refusal from the president got here just days after Biden’s deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, said in an MSNBC interview that US would discuss fighter jets “very rigorously” with Ukraine and allies.
John Kirby, US national security council coordinator for strategic communications, later defended Biden’s stance on F-16s by declaring that Washington was already providing billions of dollars value of weapons to Ukraine.
“What I can let you know is that there’s quite a lot of capability that’s being sent, and might be sent in the approaching weeks and months,” Kirby told CNN. “The sorts of capabilities that we all know might be critical to helping Ukrainians again within the fighting now within the wintertime, in addition to the type of fighting that we expect that they’re going to be doing within the spring.”
Ukraine’s stepped-up lobbying for fighter jets has put a strain on the unity of its allies within the West, a few of whom are concerned that the move could escalate and broaden the bloody conflict, soon approaching its one-year mark.
Kyiv has repeatedly appealed to allies to send jets, arguing that they’re required to challenge Russia’s air superiority and to make sure the success of its anticipated springs counteroffensives.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was due in Paris Tuesday where discussions in regards to the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine were expected to be on the table.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to balk on the prospect of providing fighter jets, suggesting Sunday that the explanation for the whole discussion is perhaps right down to “domestic political motives” in some countries.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday there are “no taboos” in efforts to assist Ukraine — but he cautioned that sending jets “could be a really big next step.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France doesn’t rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he laid out multiple conditions before such a big step is taken.
The conditions, he said, include not resulting in an escalation of tensions or using the aircraft “to the touch Russian soil,” and never leading to weakening “the capacities of the French army.”
He also said Ukraine must also formally request the planes — something that would occur when Reznikov sits down for talks in Paris.
As in previous talks about the way to help Ukraine, Poland is a number one advocate within the European Union for providing military aid. Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic countries on NATO’s eastern flank feel especially threatened by Russia.
NATO-member Croatia’s president, meanwhile, criticized Western nations for supplying Ukraine with tanks and other weapons, with President Zoran Milanovic arguing that that aid will only lengthen the war.
In the primary weeks of the conflict, discussions focused on the potential for providing Kyiv with Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets that Ukrainian pilots are acquainted with. But in March, the Pentagon shut down Poland’s proposal to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv through a US base in Germany, citing a high risk of triggering a Russia-NATO escalation.
Ukraine inherited a big fleet of Soviet-made warplanes, including Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets and Su-25 ground attack aircraft.
Russia methodically targeted Ukrainian air bases and air defense batteries within the opening stage of the conflict, but Ukraine has been smart about relocating its warplanes and concealing air defense assets, leading to Russia’s failure to achieve full control of the skies.
After suffering heavy losses early through the conflict, the Russian air force has avoided venturing deep into Ukraine’s airspace and mostly focused on close support missions along the frontline.
The Ukrainian air force faced similar challenges, trying to save lots of its remaining warplanes from being hit by Russian fighter jets and air defense systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that Russia had begun retaliating for Ukraine’s resistance to its invasion with relentless attacks within the east.
“I feel that Russia really wants its big revenge. I feel they’ve began it,” Zelensky told reporters during a visit to the town of Odesa within the south.
Zelensky is urging the West to hasten the delivery of its promised weapons, including the Abrams tanks from the US and the Leoprad 2 tanks from Germany, in order that Ukraine can go on the offensive after a protracted stalemate.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War think-tank said “the West’s failure to offer the obligatory materiel” last 12 months was the fundamental reason Kyiv’s advances had halted since November.
With Post wires
