The United States agrees to train Ukrainian pilots on combat aircraft

The United States joins the Fighter Aircraft Alliance and supports the training of Ukrainian pilots on such aircraft. In his announcement, US President Biden left open whether his country would also deliver the corresponding planes.

US President Joe Biden told the G7 leaders at the meeting that the US would agree to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter jets, including the F-16s, according to a senior US official.

First, pilots must be trained. It will then be decided if, when, how many and who will provide the planes, Biden said. The training will take place outside Ukraine at locations in Europe and will take months.

An alliance of several countries

Great Britain and the Netherlands had already announced the F-16 initiative to Ukraine on Tuesday. France is also included in the Fighter Aircraft Alliance, although the country does not possess any F-16s. Denmark announced that the country would also participate.

With Promise, US President Joe Biden is fulfilling a wish made months ago by his Ukrainian colleague, Volodymyr Zelensky. It is unclear whether the United States is also open to delivering the aircraft. Ukraine has been pressing for this for some time.

Zelensky is happy with the decision

Zelensky welcomed the US support, describing it as a “historic decision”. “This will greatly strengthen our army in the sky,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter. “I look forward to discussing the practical implementation of this resolution during the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote on Twitter that this was a “welcome announcement”. The UK will work with the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to ensure that Ukraine has the air defense capability it needs.