President Joe Biden advised allied leaders on Friday that the U.S. wouldn’t stand in the best way of a plan to coach Ukrainian pilots to fly Western fighter jets, together with the U.S.-made F-16 Fighting Falcon. The White House additionally is ready to permit different nations handy over their F-16s to Ukraine, in keeping with a number of stories.
The transfer could be a serious reversal of the Biden administration’s coverage of offering fourth-generation fighters to Ukraine. For months, the president had resisted calls to provide F-16s, saying they weren’t instantly needed for the continued battle. U.S. officers additionally had been involved that supplying Kyiv with new jet fighters may danger an escalation between NATO and Russia.
The coverage change would observe a White House sample of preliminary foot-dragging on weapon techniques for Ukraine earlier than finally giving in. The Biden administration earlier doubted Ukrainian troops may grasp the Patriot air protection missile system or the M-1 Abrams tank. But, Patriots have now taken out a number of Russian hypersonic missiles in battle and Ukrainian troopers will quickly start U.S.-led tank coaching in Germany.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has pressed NATO nations to step up their navy assist as Kyiv ready for a serious new offensive, welcomed the F-16 information. “This will greatly enhance our army in the sky,” Mr. Zelenskyy mentioned Friday on Twitter.
The Ukrainian chief mentioned he seems to be ahead to hammering out the main points on the G-7 summit now underway in Japan.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, have been pushing to get F-16 jets to Ukraine and practice their pilots to fly them. Mr. Sunak referred to as Mr. Biden’s resolution a “welcome announcement.”
“The U.K. will work closely with the U.S.A., the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs,” he mentioned on Twitter. “We stand united.”
In February, Rep. Jason Crow, Colorado Democrat, was amongst a number of members of Congress who signed a bipartisan letter urging Mr. Biden to supply Ukraine with superior plane such because the F-16.
“This is great news and something I’ve been pushing for months,” Mr. Crow mentioned on Twitter Friday. “Let’s expedite the training and get the logistics support and aircraft figured out as soon as possible.”
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