Kyiv will receive modern fighters, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, only after the end of the Russian military operation. This was announced on Saturday, February 18, by British Defense Minister Ben Wallace.
According to him, “there will be no quick deliveries of fighters”, at least at this stage, and “almost certainly they should not be expected in the next six months either.”
“Let’s be honest, it will be a long time before anyone delivers fighter jets to Ukraine. Moreover, modern aircraft, such as the Eurofighter, which we call Typhoon in the UK, will be delivered to Kyiv only after the end of the conflict. This is the consensus among Western partners,” said Wallace, whose words are reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel.
At the same time, according to him, Ukraine’s allies, in general, are ready “to take this step at some point.”
The day before, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki expressed his readiness to supply MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, Politico wrote that five members of the US House of Representatives called on President Joe Biden to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. In their opinion, the new military equipment will help Kyiv to hit Russian missiles and drones, as well as cover ground forces and fight for air superiority.
At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba complained that at the moment not a single country has made promises to Ukraine to transfer fighter jets to it. At the same time, he acknowledged that, for example, the British government announced the start of training Ukrainian pilots to work with Western equipment.
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 will not solve the situation on the battlefield.
On January 31, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his readiness to transfer the F-16 to Ukraine, adding, however, that he had not yet received relevant requests from Kyiv.
Also at the end of January, Macron said that the supply of fighter jets by Western countries to Ukraine is possible, but must be based on certain criteria. According to the politician, the supply of such weapons is not prohibited and the conflict will not escalate.
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.
