THE first shipment of US-made F-16 fighter jets is being transferred to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as world leaders pledged to support Kyiv at a NATO summit in Washington, DC.
Speaking on the sidelines of a summit Wednesday, Blinken said the F-16s were being transferred from Denmark and the Netherlands.
“And those jets … will be flying over Ukraine this summer to ensure that Ukraine can continue to defend itself effectively once morest Russian aggression,” the top US diplomat said.
Support for Ukraine during Russia’s invasion of the country is high on the agenda at this week’s NATO summit in the US capital, where leaders from the alliance’s 32 member states have gathered.
Ukraine has long wanted advanced aircraft from the West, and U.S. President Joe Biden in August gave the green light to move F-16s to the country despite concerns regarding how long it would take Ukrainian personnel to train to fly the aircraft.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is also in Washington, DC, for a summit this week, has urged his American and European allies to provide more financial and military support to Kyiv to fend off the Russian offensive.
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In a social media post, Zelenskyy thanked the US, Denmark and the Netherlands for helping to “strengthen Ukraine’s air force with F-16s”.
“This is a clear signal that Russia’s ability to terrorize Ukrainian people, cities and communities will continue to diminish,” he wrote in X.
“The F-16s will also be used to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. I am confident that they will help us protect the Ukrainian people from brutal Russian attacks, such as this week’s attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv.”
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NATO members have announced the delivery of five additional Patriot strategic air defense systems and more to help Ukraine, and further aid announcements are expected at a summit this week.
In a joint statement on the F-16 transfer, the leaders of the US, Netherlands and Denmark said they were “committed to further enhancing Ukraine’s air capabilities, which will include a squadron of modern, fourth-generation multi-role F-16 aircraft.”
“The coalition intends to support their maintenance and armament, as well as further related training for pilots to increase operational effectiveness,” they said.
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“We will continue to coordinate together to support Ukraine’s ability to defend itself once morest Russian aggression.”
The NATO summit comes at a critical time for Biden, who is facing questions regarding his health and ability to serve another term as US president following he gave a poor 2024 election debate performance late last month.
The Democratic leader, who is expected to face his Republican predecessor Donald Trump in November’s election, has rejected calls to drop out of the race.
During a speech on Tuesday evening to mark the start of the summit, Biden pledged long-term support for Ukraine and praised NATO as “stronger than at any time in its history.”
“Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” the US president said, “especially with our full support. And they have our full support.”
On Wednesday, he said he was pleased that all NATO members had pledged to expand their industrial base and develop plans for domestic defense production.
“We must not let the alliance fall behind,” Biden said. “We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory and we will do it together.” (Al Jazeera/Z-3)
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