In a sign of a growing rift between Ukraine’s European allies and the US over F-16 supplies to Kiev, Washington “remains unconvinced” that Ukraine needs these “expensive fighter jets,” a US newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying.
The source claimed that the Biden administration’s skepticism is “so deep” that Ukrainian pilots are “currently not even allowed to train on the F-16s that are owned by European states,” who are obliged to get the green light from the White House regarding any transfers of the US-made fighters.
“Without explicit American approvals, the training is likely to be limited to merely technical language and tactical lessons that pilots would be taught, without ever touching an F-16,” according to the insider. They argued that Kiev is asking “at least for between 24 and 36” F-16s.
A separate source told the newspaper that the Biden administration was still reluctant to deliver the fourth-generation fighter jets to Ukraine, in part because the plane’s multimillion-dollar price tag would “absorb too much of an already-dwindling pot of [US] war funding.”
According to the source, Ukrainian officials are concerned that Western support will plummet “as war fatigue sets in and funding dries up,” something that is unfolding amid the ongoing US financial crisis over the debt ceiling.
In addition, the source stressed, the US doesn’t want the F-16’s classified systems to be duplicated or to fall into “hostile hands.”
The claims come after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced earlier this week that the UK would begin training Ukrainian pilots, starting this summer, as part of a plan “with other countries” on supplying the F-16s to Kiev.
In another development, US media reported that Britain and the Netherlands are working on an international “fighter coalition” to help Ukraine procure F-16 jets. Apart from the UK and the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway have reportedly signaled willingness to deliver F-16s to Ukraine. Poland earlier made it clear that Warsaw would not provide Kiev with these fighters.
This follows US President Joe Biden telling an American broadcaster that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "doesn't need F-16s now," and adding that "there is no basis upon which there is a rationale" for providing them.
A top-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, for his part earlier said that the panel had “determined that it [the F-16 supplies to Kiev] is not a wise use of the resources that are necessary to win the fight."
Smith also noted that it would take a considerable amount of time and cost a significant amount of money to even deliver F-16s to Ukraine, train pilots and mechanics, as well as create air fields to accommodate the aircraft and supply the spare parts needed to keep them operating.
The US and its allies boosted their military assistance to Kiev shortly after the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly warned that such aid only prolongs the Ukraine conflict. The Russian Foreign Ministry underscored that NATO countries “play with fire" by supplying weapons to Kiev, and that any convoy of arms for Ukraine would become a legitimate target of Russian forces.