BRUSSELS
\nThe European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief said Tuesday that the US green light to allow Ukrainian pilots to get training to fly F-16s has created an inexorable momentum that will inevitably bring the fighter jets to the Ukrainian battlefield.
\n\u201cYou know, it\u2019s always the same thing: we discuss, at the beginning everybody is reluctant,\u201d said Josep Borrell, giving the example of the long debate and initial opposition to the dispatch of advanced Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.
\n\u201cAnd at the end \u2014 with the Leopards, with the F-16 at the end \u2014 the decision comes to provide this military support because it is absolutely needed.\u201d
\nNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that the training decision was the exact thrust necessary toward making the jets available to Ukraine.
\n\u201cAnnouncing clearly that they will start training \u2014 this is an important step that partly will enable us to deliver fighter jets at some stage,\u201d Stoltenberg said before meeting with EU defense ministers. He said it also proved that the West wouldn\u2019t stand down in the face of Russia, saying such a decision \u201cis sending a very clear signal that we are there for the long term and that Russia can not wait us out.\u201d
\nBorrell added that training for Ukrainian pilots had already begun in Poland and some other countries, though authorities in Warsaw couldn\u2019t immediately confirm the news. The Netherlands and Denmark, among others, are also making plans for such training.
\nNo decision on actually delivering fourth-generation fighter jets has been taken yet, but training pilots now \u2014 a process that takes several months \u2014 will help speed up battle readiness once a formal decision is made.
\n\u201cWe can continue and also finalize the plans that we\u2019re making with Denmark and other allies to start these trainings. And of course, that is the first step that you have to take,\u201d Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said.
\n\u201cWe will continue discussing with our allies and with countries that might have F-16s available about that next step. But that\u2019s not on the table right now,\u201d Ollongren said.
\nUkraine has long begged for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge as it battles Russia\u2019s invasion, now in its second year. And this new plan opens the door for several nations to supply the aircraft and for the US to help train the pilots.
\nWith the decision, the Biden administration has made a sharp reversal after refusing to approve any transfer of the aircraft or conduct training for more than a year because of worries that it could escalate tensions with Russia. US officials also have argued against the F-16 by saying that learning to fly and logistically support such an advanced aircraft would be difficult and take months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRUSSELS The European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief said Tuesday that the US green light to allow Ukrainian pilots to get training to fly F-16s has created an inexorable momentum that will inevitably bring the fighter jets to the Ukrainian battlefield. \u201cYou know, it\u2019s always the same thing: we discuss, at the beginning everybody is reluctant,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-333070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n