At the G7 summit in Japan, Joe Biden lifted his veto on the supply of these American aircraft to Kyiv by its allies. But few countries are able to deliver them quickly. The Biden administration waited until the G7 summit in Japan on Friday, May 19, to formally announce the news: It will no longer oppose the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. In addition, Washington will participate in the training of pilots, which should last several months at European sites. At this stage, Washington has not decided to supply the F-16s to Kyiv from its own contingent. On the other hand, the US could encourage certain NATO members to give up theirs, by facilitating the acquisition of American F-35 aircraft in exchange.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Kyiv has sought to reinforce its fleet of dated and unsophisticated Soviet fighters. But Russian superiority in this field has remained intact. Poland was the first NATO member to take the plunge on March 16, deciding to provide its neighbor with four MiG-29 fighter aircraft. Slovakia followed. Now, the green light from the United States makes it possible to envision a change in scale. In a tweet, Volodymyr Zelensky hailed a "historic decision" in favor of an "international fighter jet coalition." This coalition was promoted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, during a meeting in London on May 16.
On the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the war, at the end of February, Joe Biden was asked about the F-16s on ABC. He explained then that Zelensky did not "need" them. Regarding a possible aircraft delivery, "I am ruling it out for now," Biden said. The administration kept pushing the red line of what it considered acceptable, in terms of military cooperation with Kyiv, without risking a flare-up with Russia and a spillover of the conflict beyond Ukrainian borders. In reality, Washington has finally given in on many counts.