Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to an audience of NATO member officials at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, Jan. 20, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The next meeting of the group will take place Feb. 14 at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
Whether to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets likely will be up for discussion when United States defense officials meet with dozens of partners and allies in Brussels next month.
NATO has announced that the Ukraine Defense Contact group will meet at alliance headquarters Feb. 14, following up on a Jan. 20 conference at Ramstein Air Base, where the question of whether to supply Ukraine with tanks loomed over the agenda.
Soon after that meeting, the U.S. agreed to send Abrams tanks and Germany overcame its earlier reluctance to allow its Leopard tanks, which are owned by several allies, to be supplied to Ukraine.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while expressing gratitude for the tank decision, has said his country also needs F-16s and other advanced weapons to beat Russia.
Poland, which flies U.S.-made F-16s, has said it would need U.S. and NATO approval to provide Ukraine with its jets.
Ukraine presidential office head Andrii Yermak said Monday on the social media network Telegram that “work on obtaining F-16 fighters continues,” adding that “we have positive signals from Poland.”
Earlier on in the war, the U.S. rejected Ukrainian pleas for combat jets, in part due to concerns of the war’s escalation should the aircraft strike Russian territory. But U.S. officials have left room for reconsidering their stance in light of battlefield developments.
Attendees listen to opening remarks at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting Jan. 20, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The group will meet again Feb. 14 at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)
“We have not ruled in or out any specific systems,” U.S. deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Thursday on MSNBC. “We will be discussing this very carefully as we do all assistance decisions with the Ukrainians, and we’ll be tailoring our assistance … for the phase of the fight they’re in.”
Last year, Poland pledged to transfer its 28 Soviet-era MiG-29s to Ukraine, but the offer was scuttled amid miscommunication over how the planes would be delivered.
Germany continues to reject calls to supply Ukraine with fighter aircraft. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Tagesspiegel on Sunday that “the question of combat aircraft” had already been considered and rejected.
However, Germany initially promised Ukraine only helmets and small supplies as Russian troops massed on the country’s borders last year. Berlin has incrementally agreed to send advanced weapons systems amid pressure from allies.
Scholz added that he will do everything he can to ensure that “Russia’s war against Ukraine does not become a war between Russia and NATO.”
The upcoming Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting coincides with a gathering of NATO defense ministers Feb. 14-15, also in Brussels, according to NATO.
