US Lets Allies Give Jets To Ukraine

The US says it will allow its Western allies to supply Ukraine with advanced fighter jets, including American-made F-16s, in a major boost for Kyiv.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden “informed his G7 counterparts” of the decision at the bloc’s summit in Japan on Friday.

US troops will also train Kyiv’s pilots to use the jets, Mr Sullivan said.

Ukraine has long sought advanced jets and President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the move as a “historic decision.”

Countries can only resell or re-export American military hardware if the US approves it, so this decision clears the way for other nations to send their existing stocks of F-16s to Ukraine.

Although it seems increasingly likely that Ukraine will eventually receive the advanced jets it so desperately wants, no government has so far confirmed it will send them to Kyiv.

The US and allies had so far “focussed on providing Ukraine with the systems weapon and training it needs to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer”, Mr Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima, saying the moves were part of Washington’s “long-term commitment to Ukraine’s self-defence.”

“As the training unfolds in the coming months, we will work with our allies to determine when planes will be delivered, who will be delivering them, and how many.”

Ukraine has repeatedly lobbied its Western allies to provide jets to help in its fight against Russia.

Ahead of Saturday’s official announcement, President Zelensky said the jets would “greatly enhance our army in the sky.”

He said he looked forward to “discussing the practical implementation” of the plan at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where he arrived on Saturday.

The US had been sceptical about providing Ukraine with modern fighter jets – at least in the near term. Its focus has instead been on providing military support on land.

Some Nato member countries have expressed worries that handing jets to Ukraine would be viewed as escalating the war, risking a direct confrontation with Russia.

Senior US military officials were previously sceptical about the ability of Western-supplied fighter jets to dramatically alter the conflict – there are lots of air defence systems on the ground, and Russia’s large air force has struggled to gain air superiority.

In February, President Biden told reporters that he was “ruling out for now” sending advanced fighters to Ukraine.

But Mr Sullivan told reporters that the US had provided weapons to Kyiv as they were needed on the battlefield, and the decision to pave the way for fighter jets indicated the conflict had entered a new phase.

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq