The USA intends to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, but it is still not going to supply Kiev with these planes, Handelsblatt has said. According to the newspaper, the USA does not want to risk a direct confrontation with Russia, so it shifts the responsibility to European countries that have American F-16s in their depots.
At the G7 summit, the USA announced that it intended to provide training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, Handelsblatt has said. This opens the way for other NATO countries to supply their existing F-16s to Ukraine.
However, this decision is not a dramatic change of course, the paper said. The fact is that the USA itself is still not going to supply its F-16s to Ukraine. Thus, the issue of the use of Western-designed aircraft by Ukraine is still open. At the same time, Joe Biden’s decision puts Europe in a very difficult position.
As Handelsblatt notes, according to leaks from the Pentagon, the Ukrainian army is severely depleted and is not able to push back Russian troops. Against this background, the U.S. wants to encourage Ukraine to obtain combat aircraft, but does not want to risk a direct confrontation with Russia itself. Thus, Washington’s decision on the planes is both “yes” and “no”, the paper notes.
With its decision, the US is shifting responsibility to Europe, Handelsblatt wrote. The message is as follows: we will not prevent you from handing over the planes to Ukraine. The final decision, however, rests with Europe.
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