On Thursday, the Ukrainian air force confirmed media reports that a US-made F-16 jet, which was transferred to Ukraine by its Western partners, crashed on Monday just weeks after the first batch of such aircraft was delivered to Kiev.
The report said that according to officials, the US National Security Council considered the proposal to send civilian contractors to Ukraine to maintain F-16s and other weaponry, but the intelligence community deemed it too risky, so the hope instead is that European countries will take on more responsibility for the maintenance.
“The intelligence community raised concerns over the prospect of Russia targeting American contractors in Ukraine,” a US official told the WSJ.
However, according to the report, the US administration does not rule out that US contractors could be sent to Ukraine in the future.
Russia has been conducting its special military operation since February 2022. President Vladimir Putin has said the operation aims to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." According to the president, the ultimate goal of the operation is to completely liberate Donbas and create conditions that guarantee Russia's security.
Russia earlier sent a note to NATO because of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia.