National Security Council mum on Biden’s ‘no’ to Ukraine’s request for F-16s
Mike Brest
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Ukraine’s latest military aid request is for F-16 fighter jets, but President Joe Biden has declined to provide them yet.
Biden, who has authorized roughly $27 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded nearly a year ago, said on Monday that he wouldn’t agree to the request, though on Tuesday he said he’ll be speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the near future.
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National Security Council coordinator John Kirby repeatedly declined to expand upon the administration’s stance against providing Ukraine with F-16s, saying in a gaggle with reporters on Tuesday, “I don’t have anything bad from what the president said. I would just tell you that we’re focused on making sure that Ukraine is ready and able to meet the threats that they’re facing right now as well as those in the future as the weather gets better in the spring. Then we can expect that the Russians are going to try to go on the offense.”
Ukrainian leaders have requested fighter jets multiple times but renewed these requests over the last week or so, in part because Russia is expected to mount another offensive in the coming months.
“Our partners are aware of the types of weapons we need — first and foremost, fighter jets and long-range missiles that can hit targets up to 300 km (more than 186 miles) away,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a Tuesday briefing. “These are not weapons of escalation, but rather weapons of defense and deterrence against the aggressor. We are actively negotiating to unlock all these solutions. I have instructed all our diplomats in key capitals to make this a priority.”
The United Kingdom has also declined to meet this request, with a Downing Street spokesperson saying on Tuesday the fighter jets are “extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly.” The spokesperson also said the U.K. “believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine” given the conditions there.
Biden and his European counterparts have repeatedly denied some of Ukraine’s military requests, though they have often later given in and fulfilled them. The aid packages are designed to meet the current and future needs of Ukraine’s armed forces and are based on the situation there.
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The Biden administration will announce a new aid package to Ukraine, one that all but certainly won’t include F-16s, according to a White House spokesperson.
“I expect we’re going to have more security assistance to announce soon,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Dalton told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.