President Joe Biden announced Monday that the US will not provide Ukraine F16 fighter jets to defend against Russian aggression.
US clearance last week to transfer M1 Abrams fighting tanks has given Kyiv fresh confidence that it could soon get fighter planes like the F16 fighter jets it has long desired.
Ukraine's defense ministry advisor Yuriy Sak told CNBC, Ukraine "will get F-16s." On Monday, though, President Biden discredited such speculation, as reported by CBS News.
Biden said "No" when asked if the United States would provide Ukraine F-16 fighter planes on the South Lawn of the White House.
US authorities have previously looked receptive to the notion.
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The Soviet-era fighter planes of Ukraine, principally MiGs, were produced before Ukraine proclaimed independence from the USSR in 1991. Hence, Kyiv's purchase of US-made F-16 fighter jets would be a considerable improvement and help in the Russia Ukraine war, per BBC.
Despite Ukraine's repeated requests, President Joe Biden has instead prioritized other forms of military aid.
NATO Nations Still Willing To Send Fighter Planes to Ukraine
Even though Joe Biden declared that the United States will not deploy F-16s to Ukraine, most NATO nations in Europe have left the option open.
Polish officials have indicated readiness to send some of their F-16s to Ukraine.
Hellenic Aerospace Industry engineer Konstantinos Zikidis, who has a comprehensive background with the F16 fighter jets, believes that the US-made fighter jets will face the Russian Sukhoi-35, which is "larger, faster," and has superior radar, per Al Jazeera.
Zikidis noted that if the F16 fighter jets was equipped with Western-made, potent missiles and tracked by airborne radar, it would be able to defeat the Sukhoi-35 if they go head-to-head in the Russia Ukraine war.
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