EU welcomes F-16 jet decision for Ukraine

‘It’s always the same thing … at the beginning everybody is reluctant, at the end, the decision is to provide military support because it is absolutely needed’

Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also said training for Ukrainian pilots had already begun, in Poland and other countries, but this was later dismissed by Poland

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US F16 fighter jets fly in formation. File photo: AFP

Published: 9:08pm, 23 May 2023Updated: 11:55pm, 23 May 2023

The European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Tuesday that the US green light to allow Ukrainian pilots to get training to fly F-16s has created an inexorable momentum that will inevitably bring the fighter jets to the Ukrainian battlefield.

“You know, it’s always the same thing: we discuss, at the beginning everybody is reluctant,” said Josep Borrell, giving the example of the long debate and initial opposition to the dispatch of advanced Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.

“And at the end – with the Leopards, with the F-16 at the end – the decision comes to provide this military support because it is absolutely needed.”

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that the training decision was the exact thrust necessary toward making the jets available to Ukraine.

“Announcing clearly that they will start training – this is an important step that partly will enable us to deliver fighter jets at some stage,” Stoltenberg said before meeting with EU defence ministers.

He said it also proved that the West would not stand down in the face of Russia, saying such a decision “is sending a very clear signal that we are there for the long term and that Russia cannot wait us out”.