Biden: Washington still needs to plan to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighters since, at the present stage, it does not need them, US President Joe Biden said.
« No, she doesn’t need F-16s right now, » Biden said in an interview with ABC News in response to a related question from the presenter.
The president explained that the US military currently sees « no reason to supply F-16s. »
« For the moment, I rule it out, » Biden said.
According to Biden, the US military believes that the supply of other types of weapons is more important for Ukraine at the current stage.
« We’re sending what our seasoned military thinks she needs right now. She needs tanks; she needs artillery; she needs air defense, HIMARS, » Biden said.
He added: « There are things she needs now (…) to be successful this spring and this summer with the transition to autumn. »
However, the US president did not rule out that the aircraft issue could be resolved positively in the future, saying that it is impossible to know what the Ukrainian defense will need in the future.
Earlier, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, also reported that the US administration currently does not intend to transfer F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.
At the same time, Politics wrote, citing sources, that representatives of Western countries are discussing the possibility of transferring fighters to Ukraine. It is noted that the idea of such supplies is primarily supported by the Baltic countries.
