Biden: Ukraine doesn’t "need” F-16 fighter jets yet
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The United States of America excludes the possibility of sending the latest American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine "for now."
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, stated this in an interview with ABC News on the anniversary of the russian invasion.
"No, now he (Zelensky – ed.) does not need F-16s," the Head of the White House emphasized.
It should be noted that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has repeatedly called publicly to provide Ukraine with combat aircraft.
In turn, Biden "for now" ruled out the possibility of sending the newest American fighter jets to protect Ukraine in the war launched by the russian federation.
Returning to whether this meant that fighter jets would "never" be sent to Ukraine, Biden answered that it was impossible to know exactly what the Ukrainian defense would need in the future.
"There is no basis on which, in the opinion of our military, it would be possible to justify the need to provide the F-16," Biden added.
"I rule it out for now," Biden said.
Earlier, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has requested "are not a key necessity" for the country's current need to counterattack against russian forces.
For reference:
US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said the United States was negotiating with Ukraine regarding its military needs. During it, the issue of supplying Western-style fighters was also raised.
The USA currently does not plan to transfer its own fighter jets to Ukraine but has expressed its readiness to support the corresponding decision of other countries.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba expressed confidence that the issue of providing fighter jets to Ukraine will be resolved. Earlier, he stated that Ukraine is particularly interested in fighter jets from the USA, Great Britain, France, and Germany.
