Biden promises new military aid to Ukraine – Zelensky hopes for F-16
US President Joe Biden has announced new military aid to Ukraine worth $375 million. The package includes ammunition, artillery and armored vehicles, Biden said on Sunday at the conclusion of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. He assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting on the sidelines of the summit that the United States was doing everything in its power to strengthen Ukraine’s defense against Russia. “Together with the entire G7, we stand behind Ukraine and I promise we will not turn our backs,” Biden told Zelenskiy. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not break this determination.
At the meeting, Biden stressed the US’ willingness to help Ukraine build its long-term defense against Russian aggression and deterrence capabilities, the presidential office said. In addition, Biden has support for a joint effort with allies and partner countries to train Ukrainian pilots on modern Western F-16 fighter jets. Biden said Zelenskiy had given him “unconditional assurances” that Ukraine would not use western-supplied F-16 jets to invade Russian territory. Zelensky said he was confident that Ukraine would receive F-16s from the West.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced his country will begin training Ukrainian fighter pilots in the summer. However, Great Britain, like Germany, does not have the F-16 fighter jets desired by Ukraine. Chancellor Scholz said in Hiroshima that he sees the commitment of some Western countries to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets primarily as a political signal to Russia that the West will support Ukraine in the long term.