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The US ambassador to the United Nations indicated on Sunday that the White House could reverse its refusal to supply F-16 jets to Ukraine.
“We’re still having discussions on the ground with the Ukrainians,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN’s State of the Union, adding that Washington was working “very closely and directly” with Kyiv to identify “what their needs are and when they need them”.
As recently as late January, Joe Biden appeared to rule out transfers of F-16s. Asked if he would grant Kyiv’s request, the president said: “No.”
Thomas-Greenfield pointed to previous arms requests, saying “it doesn’t help” if the US supplies weapons systems Ukrainian forces are unable to use and maintain.
“We have to ensure … that they have the training necessary and the capacity to use weapon systems that we provide to them,” the ambassador said. “Discussions will continue over the course of the next few weeks and months, as we determine how best to support them.”
The Republican senator Lindsey Graham, attending the Munich security conference, said he believed “a decision will be imminent here when we get back to Washington that the administration will start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16”.
“They need the weapons system,” Graham told ABC’s This Week. “We need to start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 now.”
It was reported on Saturday that Gen Christopher Cavoli, commander of US European Command, told senior lawmakers supplying Ukraine with F-16s, alongside drones and long-range missiles, could help Kyiv achieve advantages over invading Russian forces.
Politico reported that a bipartisan group of lawmakers appealed to Joe Biden to send the jets to Kyiv, as they “could prove decisive for control of Ukrainian airspace this year”.
Led by the Maine Democrat Jared Golden, the five lawmakers wrote: “The provision of such aircraft is necessary to help Ukraine protect its airspace, particularly in light of renewed Russian offensives and considering the expected increase in large-scale combat operations.
“F-16s or similar fourth-generation fighter aircraft would provide Ukraine with a highly mobile platform from which to target Russian air-to-air missiles and drones, to protect Ukrainian ground forces as they engage Russian troops, as well as to engage Russian fighters for contested air superiority.”
The US has come under increasing pressure to supply F-16s. Last month, after receiving commitments for advanced tanks, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in his nightly address: “We have to achieve the supply of aircraft to Ukraine. And this is a dream. And this is a task.”
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, expressed confidence that the jets would ultimately be sent.
“We hope … we will get the F-16s,” Sak told CNBC.
A Zelenskyy adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Ukraine and western allies were engaged in “fast track” talks. Podolyak also cautioned that some states maintained a “conservative” attitude, “due to fear of changes in the international architecture”.
On Sunday, Thomas-Greenfield said discussions were “continuing”.
“We are there to support the Ukrainians,” she said. “We have never, ever wavered in our support for the Ukrainians. And President Biden has said we will be there as long as they need us.”
English (US)