Biden reverses the ruling and gives European allies the green light to send F-16s to Ukraine to fight with Zelenskyy against Putin ahead of the G7 meeting
- Biden agreed to allies sending F16 planes to Ukraine
- Because of the sensitive American technology in airplanes, the allies needed a permit
- Biden meets with Zelenskyy at the G7 summit on Sunday
President Joe Biden has changed course, giving European allies the green light to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to fight Russia.
Faced with pressure from Europe to help Ukraine end the conflict, Biden agreed to the move and briefed leaders at the G7 summit.
“President Biden notified his G7 peers that the United States will support joint efforts to train Ukrainian pilots in fourth-generation fighter jets, including the F-16,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday.
“Over the past few months, we and our allies and partners have really focused on providing Ukraine with the weapons and training that the system needs to conduct effective offensive operations this spring,” he said.
President Biden (left with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak) gave in to European pressure and gave the allies the green light to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to fight Russia
Ukraine is planning a massive counter-offensive to retake its territory and attempt to drive out Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces. But delivering the F-16 — and training to operate it — will take months.
The US announcement comes ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s personal visit to the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
Biden will meet with Zelenskyy on Sunday. Zelenskyi’s surprise appearance came after a stopover in Jeddah to address the Arab League. He travels in a French military plane.
“I applaud the historic decision by the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition.” “This will greatly strengthen our army in the sky,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.
Zelenskyy was in Europe this week to meet with leaders from France, Italy, the UK and Germany to strengthen alliances and ask for more aid.
At the start of the conflict, Biden had refused to send the advanced military combat plans to Ukraine, fearing they would attack the heart of Russia and provoke the Kremlin into escalating the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders.
But several European countries have F-16s in their arsenals and wanted to send them to Kiev, but due to the advanced US technology in the planes, they need an American permit to transfer them to third parties.
Sullivan argued, “Nothing has changed.” “Our approach to providing arms, materiel and training to the Ukrainians has been guided by the needs of the conflict.”
“Having delivered everything we promised,” he added, “we are enabling the Ukrainians to advance through the counter-offensive on the battlefield.”
President Biden will meet with President Zelenskyy at the G7 summit on Sunday
F-16 fighter jets have long been at the top of Ukraine’s wish list
F-16 training will be conducted by US personnel over the coming weeks. The timeline for that training remains unclear, but American officials previously estimated it could last up to 18 months.
“As training progresses over the coming months, we will work with our allies to determine when aircraft will be delivered, who will deliver them and how many,” Sullivan said.
The US Air Force has two F-16 air squadrons in Europe: the 31st Fighter Squadron at Aviano Air Force Base in Italy and the 52nd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Force Base in Germany. The US also routinely sends F-16 fighter jets in and out of Europe, alternating in smaller groups.
So far, Ukraine has relied on significantly older MiG fighter jets, of which Poland and Slovakia had made 27 available to it. Few European countries have stocks of F-16s, including the Netherlands with 40 and Denmark with 30, as well as Poland and Norway.
F-16s have been at the top of Ukraine’s weapon wish list since receiving main battle tanks from countries like the US, UK and Germany.
Western allies have taken even tougher action against Russia to pressure Putin to end the war. G7 leaders on Friday announced another round of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector and military complex.
In response, Moscow has stepped up its bombing campaign in Ukraine.