Kyiv to get F-16 fighter jets after Washington clears the runway
The fighter jets will expedite approval as soon as the pilot training program in Denmark and The Netherlands is complete.
The US has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to combat Russian forces as soon as a European pilot training program is complete, American officials have said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent letters to his counterparts in Denmark and The Netherlands, two countries leading the training of Ukrainian pilots, to assure them Washington would expedite the approval for transfers of F-16s to Ukraine once the pilots are ready.
Ukraine for months has urged its Western allies to supply the US-made jets to counter Russian air superiority and support the counteroffensive under way against Vladimir Putin’s invasion. President Joe Biden’s administration was reluctant, wary of triggering a direct confrontation between the NATO alliance and Moscow. In a diplomatic breakthrough, however, a coalition of Britain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Poland secured US approval at the G7 summit in May for deployment of the aircraft.
Denmark and The Netherlands had recently sought further US assurances third-party transfers of the jets would be approved once the Ukrainian training program was complete. The countries have F-16s ready for deployment because both are upgrading their air forces to F-35 fighters.
Responding to that request, Mr Blinken wrote: “I am writing to express the United States’ full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors.” The letter was first reported by Reuters.
“It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty,” Mr Blinken added.
He said the approval would allow Ukraine to take “full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training”.
The Dutch and Danish F-16s are said to be sufficient to create up to three squadrons – between 24 and 36 fighters, and the number of fighters transferred to Kyiv could rise to 70. Even with the training program under way, however, no time frame for supplying the jets to Ukraine has been set and officials in Kyiv remain frustrated by the delay as the counteroffensive struggles to make headway against entrenched Russian defences.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the supply of F-16s would be a powerful symbol of unwavering Western support, but air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television Ukraine will probably not be able to use the fighters in combat this year.
“It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” he said on Wednesday. “We had big hopes for this plane, that it will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism.”
The breakthrough for Kyiv came after former French president Nicolas Sarkozy caused anger with a vigorous defence of President Vladimir Putin and a call for Ukraine to accept the Russian occupation of Crimea and other conquered territories.
The 68-year-old conservative, who remains a powerful figure in France despite recent jail sentences, blamed Western leaders for precipitating Russia’s full-scale invasion last year. In an interview to promote his latest volume of memoirs, Mr Sarkozy, who left office in 2012, said the West had failed to understand Russia’s historic fear of being surrounded by enemies and had goaded Mr Putin by backing Ukraine’s push for closer relations.
President Emmanuel Macron had been wrong to break off dialogue with Mr Putin last year “under pressure from the east European countries”, he told Le Figaro newspaper. “They say Putin is not the man I knew. I’m not convinced. I had dozens of conversations with him. He is not irrational.”
Ukraine must remain neutral and concede territory for peace, Mr Sarkozy said. “The Ukrainians will want to reconquer what has been unjustly taken from them. But if they can’t manage it completely, the choice will be between a frozen conflict or taking the high road out with referendums strictly overseen by the international community.”
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