US President Joe Biden paves the way for delivery of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine

President Joe Biden is now ready to allow other countries to supply Ukraine with American-made F-16s. © Esteban Felix / AP

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

This is an important turning point in Western support for Kiev and a decision described as "historic" by President Volodymyr Zelensky: Joe Biden is now ready to allow other countries to provide Ukraine with the fighter jets it ardently demands.

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Joe Biden, who is attending the G7 summit in Japan, assured his interlocutors of his "support for a joint initiative to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter jets, including F-16s," according to a senior White House official.

The announcement was quickly welcomed by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren. "The UK will work with the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to provide Ukraine with the combat air capability it needs," Sunak said. This "will significantly help our air force," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Welcome announcement that the US will approve the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs.

We stand united. https://t.co/36d8ffu6aa pic.twitter.com/9Us6mAieR3

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 19, 2023

Joe Biden, who orchestrates the Western response to Russia, is facing mounting pressure to allow U.S. Lockheed Martin aircraft to be sent to Ukraine, not through the U.S. itself, but through other countries that do. The delivery of these aircraft by third countries is subject to prior approval by Washington, and more precisely to authorization from the State Department, in order to protect US military technology.

A turning point

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As training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to provide aircraft, how much, and who will provide them. " continued the US president. This formulation – "when" and not "if" – is, on the part of the United States, the most favorable signal to date for the delivery of these aircraft requested by Kiev.

Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking his Western allies for months to provide him with aircraft that would allow the Ukrainian army to strike deep Russian troops, without constituting a miracle solution in the conflict.

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom had pleaded for an "international coalition" to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainian army, but had then estimated, together with Germany, that it was up to "the White House" to give its final green light. Poland, which has F-16s, has already indicated that it will be willing to supply them to Ukraine, as has the Netherlands, which, like a number of NATO countries, is in the process of replacing its F-16 fleet with a newer aircraft, the F-35.

► READ ALSO: The United Kingdom promises Zelensky "hundreds" of missiles and drones of long-range attack

For now, there is no question of the US making such a decision itself, but simply allowing other countries to do so would be a major turning point in the Western response to Russia's invasion in February 2022. The White House itself has been constantly adapting its position since the beginning of the war. It recently authorized the sending of American tanks to Ukraine, which had long been a taboo in Washington.

(

With AFP)

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• Joe Biden
• United States
• Ukraine
• Russia
• Defense
• Volodymyr Zelensky