How did Joe Biden go from “no” to F-16s to US authorization to train Ukrainian pilots?

Five months ago, US President Joe Biden left the White House and he answered with a resounding “no” when the press asked him if he would supply Ukraine with the sophisticated F-16 fighters, which Kiev had been asking for for months to try to conquer Russia in the Ukrainian skies.

That “no” from Biden, short and without explanation, has turned into a “maybe” in the last few hours. Together with its European partners, the United States will train Ukrainian pilots in handling F-16s and is open to sending such aircraft to Ukraine, although a concrete decision has not yet been made.

The US president briefed the rest of the G7 leaders of the decision on Friday during a summit they are holding in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

The training will start in a few weeks and it could last for months. The next step is for the US and its partners to decide when F-16s will be sent to Ukraine, how many will be sent and which country will supply them.

Climbing

US initial reluctance about the F-16 obeys the desire to avoid open conflict with RussiaWhite House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan explained Saturday at a press conference at the US press center in Hiroshima.

“The fundamental principle followed by Biden is that we must do everything possible to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity. But, we must also proceed in such a way as to avoid the outbreak of the third world war”.the counselor said.

Sullivan, Biden’s foreign policy right-hand man, admitted that the United States it’s changing progressively its policies on delivering weapons to Ukraine depending on two factors: Russia’s reaction to such shipments and Ukraine’s needs during the war.

For example, the United States initially opposed sending Patriot anti-aircraft batteries to Ukraine, which have the capability to shoot down long-range ballistic missiles and aircraft from long ranges, as well as powerful radars.

However, despite these initial resistances, Biden announced the shipment of a Patriot anti-aircraft battery to Ukraine in Decemberjust when he met the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, at the White House.

The fears

Ukraine has also received Abrams tanks from the US and Leopard tanks from European countries, even if Germany was skeptical about sending those main battle tanks to Ukraine.

For USA and other countries, one of the main fears is to provoke a violent reaction from Russia leading to an escalation of the war, for now contained within Ukraine.

It’s also a cause for concern the cost of armament and the possibility of it being destroyed by Russia. The Patriot anti-aircraft battery that the US sent to Ukraine (it only sent one) was nearly destroyed this week by missiles that Russia fired on Kiev.

According to the US Air Force, manufacturer of the sophisticated and agile F-16, capable of performing any type of aerobatics in the air, cost between $14.6 and $18.8 million and that cost can rise significantly when you factor in the amount of fuel they need to fly.

Even F-16s often need spare parts, especially if they are engaged in warfare, and therefore the United States and its allies will also have to think about them. how to guarantee a supply chain to provide Ukrainian pilots with what they need to operate those planes.

While shipping F-16s to Ukraine may still take some time, the fact that the US and its European partners have decided to start training Ukrainian pilots could produce changes in the situation of the warwhich is stagnant with minimal changes in recent months.

For now, the fight takes place at ground level but the time may come when it moves in the air and the idea is that Ukraine is ready to win, a source familiar with the US decision told EFE.

According to that source, the ad also tries raise the morale of Ukrainians at a time when Zelensky is making a great effort to maintain Western support.

Zelenski, who met Pope Francis in recent days and participated in the last few hours in the summit of heads of state of the Arab League in Saudi Arabia, plans to also take part in the G7 summit which is being held in Hiroshima.