President Joe Biden announced at the G7 summit in Japan that his government will support the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets that could be supplied to Kiev to resist a Russian invasion, a senior House official said on Friday. White.
The announcement was quickly greeted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo and Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
Biden, who is participating in the G7 summit of Western powers in Hiroshima, said the United States “will support a joint effort” with its allies “to train Ukrainian pilots in fourth-generation fighter jets, including F-16s, to strengthen and further enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force,” the official said.
“As training unfolds in the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to provide aircraft, how many to provide and who will provide them,” he added.
“The training will take place outside Ukraine in places located in Europe and will last for months,” said the senior official, who “expects this training to begin in the coming weeks.”
Ukraine demands from its Western allies the delivery of planes to reconquer areas taken by Russia, which invaded the country in February 2022.
international coalition
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, expressed his satisfaction with the announcement of the Biden government’s accession to the coalition.
It is “a historic decision” that “will strengthen our armed forces” in Ukrainian airspace, tweeted the Ukrainian president, who says he is eager to “discuss the implementation” of the plan in Hiroshima, where it is expected. on Sunday for a meeting with Biden on the sidelines of the G7 summit.