Washington
CNN
—
The United States will allow European countries to train Ukrainians on F-16 fighter jets, a senior Biden administration official confirmed Sunday, a possible boost to Ukraine’s efforts to counter Russia’s air superiority.
“The president has given the green light and we will allow, allow, support, facilitate and indeed provide the necessary tools for the Ukrainians to begin F-16 training as soon as the Europeans are ready,” said Jake Sullivan, national security advisor. he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
The decision cements a sharp turn for President Joe Biden, who said earlier this year that he did not believe Ukraine needed the F-16s. One of the main problems that Kiev’s ground forces have faced as they begin their counteroffensive is that they are being held back by Russian air power. Russia still maintains air superiority, making it difficult for ground forces to advance.
In May, Biden had told G7 leaders that the US would support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots in fourth-generation aircraft, including the F-16, although it was unclear at the time would star in this formation.
The US-made aircraft has air-to-air refueling capabilities and is compatible with most NATO weapons already being supplied to Ukraine. Although it first entered production in the 1980s, it has gone through several upgrades, making it more advanced and versatile than any Ukrainian jet currently in its fleet, and a fierce rival for most ‘Russian planes, with the exception of newer models that Moscow has doubted. to deploy to Ukraine.
Sullivan noted Sunday that European allies have said they need several weeks to prepare training capabilities and that the United States would stick to whatever schedule it proposes.
“The United States will not stand in the way of ensuring that this F-16 formation can begin,” he said.
Regarding the national defense of the United States, Sullivan lamented the defense policy bill passed by the House that includes the adoption of several controversial amendments that touched on important social issues.
“This legislation never makes it to the president’s desk because what you’ve seen from an extreme group of Republicans is to introduce a set of amendments that try to mix national social debates with security needs,” Sullivan said.
The addition of amendments pushed by hardliners related to abortion policy and access to transgender health care, as well as targeting diversity and inclusion programs, angered Democrats, and will now create a showdown with the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Pressed to acknowledge that the bill was passed along party lines but supported by a majority of Republican lawmakers in the House, Sullivan argued that the process had been hijacked by a “small group of Republicans.”
“A large number of people in the House, including Republicans, in my opinion, are not particularly interested in politics getting into the middle of the (National) Defense Authorization Act,” Sullivan said, referring to the official name of the defense policy. invoice
“So it was a small group of Republicans who essentially set up a trap. A circumstance we don’t need to find ourselves in.”
CLARIFICATION: This story and headline have been updated to better describe the Ukrainian F-16 trainees.
