Ukraine does not need F-16 fighters now, US President Joe Biden said in an interview with ABC News.
“No, Zelensky doesn’t need F-16s right now. In the opinion of our military, there are no grounds now for which it would make sense to provide the F-16. I rule it out for now. Zelensky needs tanks, artillery, air defense, including the Himars MLRS. There are things he needs now for success in the spring, summer and fall,” he said.
Biden noted that the supply of fighter jets is excluded "at the moment" and now it is difficult to understand what weapons the Ukrainian army will need in the future.
Ukraine requested fighters from Western countries, and in particular from the United States, after they approved the supply of tanks. President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov spoke about the importance of aviation supplies. The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak , wrote that work on the acquisition of fighter jets is already underway. According to him, Ukraine received “positive signals” from Poland, which stated that it was ready to transfer the F-16 in agreement with NATO.
In January of this year, Biden already said that the United States would not transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.