US President Joe Biden has signalled to G7 leaders that he will give the green light to Western deliveries of fighter jets to Ukraine, including US F-16s, a senior White House official said on Friday.
The US president, who is attending the G7 summit in Japan, assured his interlocutors that the US would “support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s,” the official said.
Biden, who is orchestrating the Western response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine, is facing growing pressure to allow US F-16 fighters to be sent to Ukraine, not by the US itself but by other countries that own them. The delivery of these aircraft by third countries is subject to prior approval by Washington.
“As training takes place over the next few months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to provide aircraft, how many, and who will provide them,” the official continued.
This wording – ‘when,’ not ‘if’ – is the most favourable signal yet from the United States for the delivery of the aircraft that Kyiv has been clamouring for.
“The training will take place outside Ukraine at sites in Europe and will last for months,” the senior official said, adding that he “hopes that the training will start in the next few weeks.”
On Tuesday, the UK had called for an “international coalition” to provide the fighter jets to the Ukrainian military.
