US Air Force ground crew work on their F-16 fighter jets taking part in the US-Philippines air force joint military exercise dubbed Cope Thunder at the former US Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga province, north of Manila on May 9, 2023. Photo- AFP
The US administration has signalled that it will allow European allies to export of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as the White House comes under increasing pressure from members of Congress and allies to help Ukraine procure the planes amid intensifying Russian aerial attacks.
The US has been reluctant to send any of its own fleet of F-16s to Ukraine. However, CNN reported on Thursday evening that the White House has indicated to allies that it will not block any moves they may have to send their own aircraft to Ukraine.
National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby declined to comment specifically on the possibility of the US sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine but said broadly that the US has been forward-looking about “future capabilities” and needs. F-16s are “not on the agenda” at the G7, he said, though the aircraft could certainly come up on the sidelines of the summit.
A fresh push by Britain and the Netherlands to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes has exposed the latest fault line among Western allies who have wrangled repeatedly over sending powerful weapons of war, once again pitting the reluctant United States against some of its closest European partners, New York Times reported.
Leaders of the UK and Germany on Wednesday also came in support of Ukraine’s demand, saying that the U.S. needs to make a decision on warplanes for Ukraine as the war with Russia drags on.
Replying to the question asked by reports about why top NATO allies have not sent Ukraine F-16s, instead opting to allow allies like Poland to send Soviet era-MiG-29 fighter jets, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said ultimately the decision is “up to the White House.”
Earlier this week, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said that his country had “opened the door” to training Ukrainian fighter pilots, even if he excluded sending any warplanes to Kyiv.
Macron spoke a day after Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky visited Paris on the second such trip since Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbour in February last year.
“We have opened the door to training pilots, and this with several other European countries who are also ready. I think discussions are underway with the Americans,” he said in a televised interview with the TF1 broadcaster.
With inputs from agencies.
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