The US has not yet decided which country, when and how many F-16 fighter jets will be delivered to Ukraine, a security adviser said on Sunday, indicating the planes could be supplied by European countries rather than Washington. . House National Jake Sullivan in an interview with CNN.
«I’m not going to put up a calendar. What the president has said is that he will sit down with his European and Ukrainian allies to decide who, when and how many planes will be transferred. And we’re currently working in that direction,” Sullivan said.
The adviser added that there was a possibility that the aircraft would be delivered by European countries, given the number of F-16s in their possession and the need to supply Ukraine with other important weapons. “I think based on the numbers currently available from our European partners’ stockpiles and the fact that there are many other system priorities to deliver to Ukraine based on the money that Congress has given us, we will be focusing more on third-party transfers.” Can concentrate,'” he said.
In addition, he stressed that the US “made an extraordinary effort to deliver on time and fully what Ukraine needs to launch retaliatory measures.” According to Sullivan, Washington may currently be working to ensure its ability to defend Ukraine in the long term and “the fourth-generation fighter jet, the Western F-16, is relevant in that fight.”
- United States President Joe Biden informed G7 leaders this Friday that he would support the training of Ukrainian pilots in handling the US-made F-16 fighter jets, thus opening up the possibility of their future supply to Kiev.
- The US President said on Sunday that he does not expect the Ukrainian military to use the F-16 in retaliation against Russian troops.
