Stoltenberg still hasn’t ruled out NATO members sending F-16s to Ukraine

The Nato head did not rule out member states going further by sending F-16s or other western jets to Ukraine.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says this after  an emotive "wings for freedom" plea by Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, The Guardian reports.

"We should continue to address the need for more capabilities," Stoltenberg said, highlighting that despite an initial apparent refusal by the US president, Joe Biden, to release the US-made fighters, "there has not been made any decisions on F-16s"

This month Poland and Slovakia agreed to give 17 Soviet-standard MiG-29s, but the total available numbers are small.

Stoltenberg thought the West had provided enough military equipment, including tanks, fighting vehicles and rocket artillery, "to enable the Ukrainians to retake territory to liberate more and more and more land" seized by russia after the initial invasion in February 2022.

The goal, he emphasised, was "to enable the Ukrainians to launch an offensive and to retake territory" although he said NATO was not a party to the conflict, with alliance members making their own decision on providing weapons and leaving battlefield calculations to Ukraine's commanders.