war in Ukraine
Biden: US will not deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden commented on the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine. photo
© Andrew Harnik/AP/dpa
So far, the US government has not wanted to commit itself to the question of further arms deliveries. President Biden has now clearly rejected Ukraine’s demands for fighter jets.
The United States will not deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to President Joe Biden. When asked by a reporter, “Will the US provide Ukraine with F-16s?” Biden said “no” in Washington.
So far, it has been said that the US government has not ruled out any particular weapon system and is aligning support with what Ukraine needs. It will be “discussed very carefully,” it said last Friday.
The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, had called for modern fighter jets to defend against the Russian war of aggression. The allies should set up a strong fighter jet coalition, with US F-16s and F-35s, Eurofighters and Tornados, French Rafales and Swedish Gripen jets. Melnyk is now Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had ruled out the delivery of fighter jets after the promise of Leopard 2 main battle tanks last week.