Joe Biden backs F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots
- The US president told G7 leaders Washington will support providing advanced fighter planes to Kyiv, in what Ukraine’s Zelensky hailed as a ‘historic decision’
- The US move signals a breakthrough for Kyiv, which has been pushing for Western allies to provide hi-tech aircraft to help it fend off Russia’s invasion
US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that Washington will support providing advanced warplanes, including F-16s, to Ukraine and will back efforts to train Kyiv’s pilots, a senior White House official said Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is set to attend the Group of 7 summit in Japan, hailed the move as a “historic decision” on Twitter, adding that he looked forward to “discussing the practical implementation” of the plan in Hiroshima.
The US move signals a breakthrough for Kyiv, which has repeatedly – and until recently unsuccessfully – pushed its Western supporters to agree to provide hi-tech aircraft as it fights to fend off Russia’s more than year-long invasion.
Biden said the United States “will support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force”, the official said.
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“As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them.”