The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for over a year. The West is expanding its arms support to Ukraine, which it supports against Russia. The United States, which sent the latest Abrams tanks, announced that it would allow advanced warplanes, including American-made F-16s, to be given to Ukraine.
“BIDEN REPORTED THE DECISION TO G7 PARTNERS”
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan noted that President Joe Biden “informed his partners in the G7” of the decision at the summit in Japan on Friday.
Sullivan also noted that US soldiers will train Ukrainian pilots to use the jets.
ZELENSKY COMMENTED THE DECISION AS ‘Historical’
Ukraine has long wanted advanced warplanes, and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the decision as “historic”.
Legally, different countries can sell or re-export American military hardware only if Washington approves it.
But so far, no country has committed advanced warplanes to Kiev.
Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima, where the summit was held, that the United States and its allies have so far provided weapons systems and training for Ukraine’s offensive this spring and summer, demonstrating Washington’s long-term commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense.
“As training continues in the coming months, we will work with our allies to determine when, by whom and how many planes will be delivered,” Sullivan said.
THE USA WAS BEHAVIOR
Ukraine has long demanded fighter jets from its Western allies.
“Jets will significantly enlarge our airborne army,” said Ukrainian leader Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy also stated that he is “looking forward to discussing the implementation of the plan” at the G7 summit.
The US has been skeptical about giving Ukraine modern warplanes, at least in the near term. Instead, it provided military support on land.
Some NATO members were also concerned that supplying fighter jets to Ukraine would escalate the war and increase the risk of direct confrontation with Russia.
Just two months ago, US President Biden told reporters that the possibility of sending fighter jets to Ukraine is out of the question for now.
While the change in US policy is significant, training F-16 pilots will take time.
Ukraine currently has more trained pilots than fighter jets, but it takes up to four months to train even experienced fighter pilots to fly new planes.
Also, various countries need to supply the planes.
“WE NEED 200 JETS”
F-16 warplanes are widely used in the armies of a number of European and Middle Eastern countries.
Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark announced that they welcomed the decision.
While Denmark said it could support the training of pilots, it did not confirm whether it would send planes. The Danish Air Force has 40 F-16s, 30 of which are operational.
When the invasion of Russia began, Ukraine had 120 combat-ready fighter jets, most of them Soviet-era MiG-29s and Su-27s.
However, officials stated that they needed 200 jets to counter Moscow’s air power, which is thought to be five or six times more.