President Biden on Monday flatly ruled out providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in its war against Russia, even as Moscow has stepped up its attacks to try to break Kyiv’s resolve.
When asked at the White House about whether the US would send the warplanes, Biden told reporters, “No.”
Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies to supply fourth-generation fighter planes, after securing pledges from the US and Germany last week to send modern battle tanks after months of tough negotiations.
A Ukrainian air force spokesman previously said it would take its pilots about six months to train on fighter jets such as the F-16, which also pose significant logistical challenges related to maintenance.
The unequivocal refusal from the president came just days after Biden’s deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, said in an MSNBC interview that the US would discuss fighter jets “very carefully” with Ukraine and allies.
John Kirby, US national security council coordinator for strategic communications, later defended Biden’s stance on F-16s by pointing out that Washington was already providing billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine.
“What I can tell you is that there’s a lot of capability that is being sent, and will be sent in the coming weeks and months,” Kirby told CNN. “The kinds of capabilities that we know will be critical to helping Ukrainians again in the fighting now in the wintertime, as well as the kind of fighting that we expect that they’re going to be doing in the spring.”
Ukraine’s stepped-up lobbying for fighter jets has put a strain on the unity of its allies in the West, some of whom are concerned that the move could escalate and broaden the bloody conflict, approaching its one-year mark.
Kyiv has repeatedly appealed to allies to send jets, arguing that they are required to challenge Russia’s air superiority and to ensure the success of its anticipated spring counteroffensives.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was due Tuesday in Paris, where discussions about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine were expected to be on the table.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to balk at the prospect of providing fighter jets, suggesting Sunday that the reason for the entire discussion might be down to “domestic political motives” in some countries.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday there are “no taboos” in efforts to help Ukraine — but he cautioned that sending jets “would be a very big next step.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France doesn’t rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step is taken.
The conditions, he said, include not leading to an escalation of tensions or using the aircraft “to touch Russian soil,” and not resulting in weakening “the capacities of the French army.”