The realization of Ukraine’s dream of receiving fighter jets from the West is under the sign of uncertainty, the faint hope is connected with the answer of the President Emmanuel Macron that “nothing is prohibited in principle” and the pressure from the Baltic States, who are lobbying for this type. military support. During this time, the US has said a resounding “no”, and the UK says that the decision to send fourth-generation aircraft is impractical.

Politico reported last week that multiple diplomats and military leaders confirmed to Politico that the possibility of sending military aircraft to Ukrainian forces is also being discussed among Kyiv’s allies.

The Baltic countries would support such an initiative.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra has already told his country’s parliament that Mark Rutte’s government will consider sending F-16s to Ukraine if Kyiv requests it. “We are open, there are no taboos,” he said.

And Poland would also be ready to supply F-16 in coordination with NATO.

“Discussions regarding the acquisition of F-16 fighters are ongoing. We have positive signals from Poland, which is ready to pass them on to us in coordination with NATO. Tanks and fighter jets are a great company to turn enemy Russians into fertilizer,” Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine in Telegram.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a briefing on January 30 that Poland can supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets if NATO supports such a decision.

France hasn’t made a decision yet, but it’s not saying no either

France and Ukraine have discussed training Ukrainian pilots to fly French fighter jets, but no decision has yet been made, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, after a meeting in Paris with his Ukrainian colleague, said that there is “no taboo” on the issue of the supply of fighter jets to Ukraine.

Lecorne also reiterated France’s position on providing arms to Ukraine, noting that it should not weaken France’s own defense capabilities, that it should be useful to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, and that the arms should be used by Ukraine only for self-defense.

Training Ukrainian pilots to fly fighter jets was “part of our discussions, but no decision has been made yet,” Lecorniu said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, when asked in The Hague on Monday about the possibility of sending fighter jets to Ukraine to help it fight the Russian invasion, cautiously replied that “in principle, nothing is prohibited.”

He mentioned the “criteria” before any decision, such as that there must be a “request” from Ukraine, that it “must not be escalating” and “must not likely strike Russian territory, but contribute to resistance efforts.” , and that it “should not weaken the capacity of the French army.”

Britain says it is “not practical” to send planes.

Prime Minister’s spokesman Rishi Sunaka said on Tuesday that Britain did not consider it appropriate to send its fighter jets to Ukraine after Kyiv said it would insist on Western planes, Reuters reported.

“Great Britain’s fighter jets are very sophisticated and take months to learn to fly. Given this, we believe it is impractical to send these aircraft to Ukraine,” the spokesman told reporters.

“We will continue to talk to our allies about what we believe is the right approach.”

The United States says it will not supply the F-16

The United States will not provide F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has requested for use in the fight against Russia, President Joe Biden said Monday.

“No,” the US president answered when asked by a White House reporter whether he would provide Kyiv with fighter jets, which Ukrainian leaders allegedly requested.

This measure also faces strong opposition from Berlin.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly emphasized in recent days that Germany will not send fighter jets to Ukraine.

In recent weeks, Zelensky has warned that Moscow plans to step up its offensive on Ukraine after about two months of stalemate along the front line, which stretches south and east.

It would take six months for the Ukrainians to train on the F-16

A representative of the Air Force of Ukraine stated that it will take about six months to train pilots on such fighters.

“Our pilots can learn to fly these planes in a matter of weeks. It takes time, about six months, to master the fight against these planes,” said Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force of Ukraine, according to CNN.

Ignat added that in addition to the pilots, “intensive training” will be required for the ground crews that maintain the F-16.

If the planes are sent, it will be a coordinated decision of the West

All these discussions come after the German government officially confirmed last Wednesday that it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv and that it will authorize all transfers to allied countries, which in turn want to supply these main battle tanks to the Ukrainian army.

All signs point to a new round of intense talks between the allies, which are very similar to the process in which the West decided to send modern tanks to Ukraine in a coordinated manner after weeks of negotiations.

“There is a red line here,” the diplomat quoted by Politico says, but he points out that there was also a strong reluctance in the past to send HIMARS systems to Ukrainian forces and then supply battle tanks.

This does not mean that the result will be the same.

Although there are no signs of a new, larger Russian offensive, the head of the Russian occupation regime in Donetsk region, Denis Pushylin, said that Russian troops have entered Vugledar, a mining town whose ruins were originally a Ukrainian fortress. war

Pusilin said Ukrainian forces continued to push reinforcements to Bakhmut, Maryinka and Vugledar, three towns that run north-south west of Donetsk. Russian state news agency TASS quoted him as saying that Russian troops had advanced there, but “it’s not clear, I mean there’s a fight for every meter here.”

Pusilin’s adviser, Ian Gagin, said Wagner’s mercenaries had partially taken control of the supply road leading to Bakhmut, a town that had been Moscow’s main target for months.

A day earlier, Wagner’s chief announced that his fighters captured the village of Blagodatne north of Bakhmut.

Kyiv said it rejected the attacks on Blagodatne and Vugledar, and Reuters could not independently verify the situation there. But the reported battle sites testify to clear, albeit gradual, successes of Russia.

Sources: Reuters, CNN, Politico, HotNews