The United States says it will allow its Western allies to supply Ukraine with modern fighter jets, including American-made F-16s, a significant military boost for Ukraine’s government, which has coveted the jets since the war began in February 2022.
President Joe Biden “informed his G7 counterparts” of the decision at the bloc’s summit in Japan on Friday night, May 19, according to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. He also stated that US Marines will teach Kyiv’s pilots to use the jets.
Legally, countries may only resale or re-export American military hardware with US approval, therefore this decision allows other countries to deploy their current stocks of F-16s to Ukraine.
However, no government has stated that upgraded fighter jets will be sent to Kyiv.
Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima, Japan, that the US and its partners had so far “focused on providing Ukraine with the systems, weapons, and training it needs to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer.”
“As part of our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense, we have now turned to discussions about improving the Ukrainian air force.” We will work with our allies in the next months to establish when planes will be deployed, who will deliver them, and how many.” He went on to say
Prior to the official announcement on Saturday, President Zelensky stated that the jets will “significantly enhance our army in the sky.”
He expressed excitement about “discussing the practical implementation” of the plan during the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where he landed on Saturday.
The US had been hesitant to provide Ukraine with modern fighter jets, with several NATO member countries concerned that doing so would be interpreted as intensifying the war and risking a direct confrontation with Russia.
Sullivan told reporters that the US had delivered weapons to Kyiv as needed on the battlefield, and that the decision to allow fighter jets to fly signaled that the conflict had reached a new phase.
