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Biden administration to authorize allies to supply F-16 fighter jets to Kiev — TV report

The report notes that the US administration is not currently aware of any official requests for the export of such aircraft

NEW YORK, May 19. /TASS/. The administration of US President Joe Biden intends to authorize the transfer of F-16 fighter jets by its allies to Kiev, CNN reported on Friday, citing sources.

According to the report, the White House is signaling to European allies that it does not intend to block the delivery of F-16 jets, as it is under constant pressure from the Congress and other countries. However, the report notes that the US administration is not currently aware of any official requests for the export of such aircraft, and US State Department officials have not yet received any order to draft the necessary documents for their transfer.

According to the TV news channel, a number of officials are skeptical about the advisability of delivering the F-16 jets to Kiev. They believe that Russian air defenses are effective against fighter jets, and thus the Ukrainian armed forces are restricted to carrying out a small number of missions using the military airframes already in their fleet.

On May 17, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US had not changed its plans regarding deliveries of F-16 jets to Ukraine and still does not intend to supply Kiev with fighter jets. The New York Times reported on the same day that US authorities were not allowing Ukrainian pilots to undergo combat training on European F-16s, as Washington did not intend to transfer the planes to Kiev.

During the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik this week, the UK said that it was working with the Netherlands to form an international coalition to help Ukraine obtain F-16 jets from its allies. Berlin, Washington and London have until recently refused to supply their own fighters to Kiev. On May 14, during a visit to Berlin, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he planned to discuss fighter jet deliveries, which Kiev was requesting from its Western partners, and called one of his goals the creation of a coalition of countries ready to provide Ukraine with combat aircraft.

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