So far, the US government has said that support for Ukraine is based on its needs and that no weapon system is ruled out in principle. When asked about F-16 fighter jets, however, President Biden is now drawing a red line.
US President Joe Biden has canceled a delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. When asked by journalists if he was in favor of delivering the fighter jets to Ukraine, Biden answered "no" in Washington. The Ukrainian leadership is currently urging its Western allies to supply fighter jets. Former Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany and now Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk said the allies should create a strong coalition of fighter jets, with US F-16s and F-35s, Eurofighters and Tornados, French Rafales and Swedish Gripen jets.
In an interview last week, Biden's Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer did not categorically rule out a delivery of F-16 jets. In principle, the USA would not rule out any "specific system" but would constantly examine which weapons Ukraine would need in the war against Russia. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly ruled out the delivery of combat aircraft to Kyiv and warned of a "constant bidding war" in the debate on arms deliveries.
Biden wants to visit Poland
Scholz and Biden only promised Ukraine heavy Leopard 2 and Abrams main battle tanks after long hesitation last week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then asked his country's allies for warplanes.
Biden also announced a trip to Poland, which borders Ukraine, on Monday, but without giving a specific date. "I will go to Poland, but I don't know when," said the US President. Recently there had been reports that Biden could travel to Europe on February 24, 2022 to mark the first anniversary of the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
