On February 16, US Senators called on the administration of President Joe Biden to begin training Ukrainian pilots in the use of modern fighters.
This call was made by lawmakers Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut).
“We call on the Biden administration and all of our allies <…> begin the process of training the use of advanced fighters for Ukraine,” Graham said.
In turn, Blumenthal expressed the hope that Kyiv would soon receive ATACMS missile systems.
However, Biden said last week that he did not want to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine because the combat aircraft should be left in the United States of America.
At the same time, The New York Times wrote earlier that the United States and the European Union could transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine through the Netherlands and Denmark.
In addition, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the country could transfer fighter jets to Ukraine, but training pilots for them would take a long time.
Amid the discussion about the possible supply of combat aircraft to Kyiv, former US Marine Corps officer Scott Ritter emphasized that the supply of fighters to Ukraine would not solve the situation on the battlefield.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine after the start of Russia’s special operation to protect Donbass. The decision on the special operation was made by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin against the backdrop of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of increased shelling by Ukrainian militants.
