Ukraine's Bid for Warplanes Appears to Be Lacking Wings

Shortly after the US, the UK, France and Germany indicated their readiness to provide Kiev with their main battle tanks, Ukrainian authorities were quick to say that they now need scores of warplanes and long-range missiles from the West to counter Russian forces who continue their special military operation in Ukraine.

It seems as though Kiev’s hopes to get its hands on the US-made fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets from its western allies remain destined to go unfulfilled as some leaders have already ruled out such a possibility and others only pledged that the warplanes' deliveries might be on the cards.

US President Joe Biden made it clear on Monday that Washington would not be sending the F-16s to Ukraine in its future military aid packages. His remarks came as he spoke to reporters on the White House South Lawn, moments after he returned from an event in Baltimore, Maryland.

When asked whether the F-16s were going to Ukraine as part of the forthcoming US military assistance package, Biden replied to reporters' question with a simple “No”.

Hours after Biden spoke to reporters, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby explained that the reason for the refusal was that "there's a lot of capability that is being sent, and will be sent in the coming weeks and months" to Ukraine.

"The kinds of capabilities that we know will be critical to helping Ukrainians again in the fighting now in the wintertime, as well as the kind of fighting that we expect they're going to be doing in the spring," he added.

Biden spoke after French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that “by definition, nothing is excluded” when it comes to Paris sending combat aircraft to Kiev, something that he said would depend on at least three factors.

The first factor is whether the military supplies are "useful" for the Ukrainian army, the second factor is an assurance that the supplies would not lead to any escalation of the conflict and would not “touch Russian soil”, and the third factor, Macron concluded, is whether supplies to Kiev were in the interests of France's defense.

A UK newspaper previously reported that "the French government could be prepared to offer some of its older generation planes - likely Dassault Mirages - but Paris is aware of the difficulties in training both Ukrainian pilots and the 10 support staff needed for a jet.”

This came after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed late last week that Berlin will not send its fighter jets to Kiev.

In an interview with a German newspaper, Scholz stressed: “The question of fighter planes does not even arise. I can only advise against getting into a constant bidding war when it comes to weapon systems."

“The fact that we’ve only just made a decision [on sending tanks] and already the next debate [fighter jets] is firing up in Germany - that just seems frivolous and undermines people’s trust in government decisions,” he added.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has, meanwhile, told reporters that Warsaw would provide Kiev with its F-16 fighters only with NATO's blessing.

"As it was a few months ago in the context of MiG[-29]s, any other air force will be implemented and probably transferred in agreement with NATO countries. Here we will act in full coordination,” Morawiecki said.

Earlier this month, the UK and Germany announced that they would deliver an array of their main battle tanks - the Challenger 2 and the Leopard 2, respectively - to Ukraine. The US, in turn, plans to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Kiev also needs combat aircraft and long-range missiles to tackle Russian troops whose special military operation in Ukraine is under way.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that the West's military aid to Ukraine will only prolong the Ukrainian conflict and that NATO countries are “playing with fire” by providing Kiev with weapons. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that any cargo that contains arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces.