President Joe Biden, while meeting with G7 leaders in Japan this week, reportedly "endorsed" plans to train Ukrainian pilots to fly U.S-Made F-16 fighter jets, according to a Friday morning dispatch from The Associated Press.
The AP's report cited "people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s private conversations with allies" and explained that the training program would would happen in Europe, beginning "in the coming weeks."
Big news from Japan — President Biden is laying the groundwork for Ukraine to receive F-16 fighter jets. https://t.co/BzXK8Zk3hz
— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) May 19, 2023
This significant step toward equipping Ukraine with American air power is another escalation of U.S. support for the country's fight against Russia, though it remains unclear from which country the F-16s for Ukraine would come.
Via AP:
President Joe Biden on Friday endorsed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter, as he huddled with leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies on plans to toughen punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.
The Group of Seven leaders were convening in Hiroshima, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to join them on on Sunday in his farthest trip from his country since the war began in February of last year.
The leaders heard for the first time of Biden’s backing of training Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter jets, as a precursor to sending the jets to Ukraine.
The G7 leaders also set out new sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
“Our support for Ukraine will not waver,” the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. The vowed “to stand together against Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.”
“Russia started this war and can end this war,” they said.
The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. But Biden told the leaders that decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation fighter jets for Ukraine to use in battle will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway.
Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his country’s defenses against Russia’s invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the U.S. that they would turn the tide in the war. Now, as Ukraine has bolstered its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the country’s long-term security.
So, even on a trip at which — in China's backyard — Biden and world leaders were set to focus on threats from China, the confab is turning into another focused on Ukraine and Russia.
It's worth remembering that President Biden and his administration wasted months leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine trying to convince Beijing to talk Putin out of his plans. Those efforts, however, saw China play Biden, take the information about what the U.S. knew of Russia's plans, and hand it to Moscow. Instead of Biden using China to get Putin to back down, Russia's invasion went ahead and Beijing and Moscow drew closer to each other.
Now, after being resistant to the idea of providing F-16s to Ukraine, Biden has apparently decided to clear another hurdle toward doing exactly that. Just a few months ago in late February, the president said in an interview with ABC News that Ukraine "doesn't need F-16s now" and that he was "ruling it out for now." In January of this year, Biden also said — more bluntly — that he wouldn't send the fighter jets to Ukraine.