The international locations just lately signed a useful resource deal linking continued American help to entry to Ukrainian minerals
The US has accepted a $310.5 million deal to maintain Ukrainian-operated F-16 fighter jets supplied by Kiev’s European backers. The transfer comes after the US and Ukraine signed a deal wherein Kiev grants Washington entry to its pure assets in change for future help.
The F-16 deliveries from European NATO members to Ukraine have been accepted by former US President Joe Biden in August 2023, however the first jets didn’t arrive within the nation till a yr later. Whereas Ukrainian officers hailed the deliveries as a significant coup, Western media warned that they’d not be a “sport changer” within the battle. In March, the Ukrainian Air Power acknowledged that the F-16s operated by Kiev “can’t compete” with the most recent Russian jets.
In an announcement on Friday, the Pentagon’s Protection Safety Cooperation Company (DSCA) mentioned the State Division had signed off on a overseas army sale to Ukraine which incorporates coaching, spare elements, plane modifications, logistics help, and software program help for F-16s.
The company added that the proposed sale “will help the overseas coverage objectives… of the US by bettering the safety of a associate nation that could be a pressure for political stability” in Europe.
Greater than 80 F-16s have been promised to Ukraine, with the majority anticipated to come back from Belgium and the Netherlands, whereas the US has by no means dedicated to offering the jets by itself. Whereas the precise variety of jets delivered is unknown, Moscow confirmed final month it had shot down one F-16. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky mentioned the plane’s pilot perished throughout a “fight mission.”
In 2024, Ukraine reported the lack of one other F-16, saying it crashed whereas repelling a Russian air strike.
The DSCA announcement comes after the Pentagon mentioned it’s sending “disused and utterly non-operational F-16s to Ukraine for elements.” It additionally follows the signing of a US-Ukraine useful resource deal that’s supposed to permit Washington to get well the price of future army help by means of shared proceeds from Ukrainian mineral useful resource licenses.
Moscow has condemned the Western arms shipments to Ukraine, warning they’ll solely delay the battle with out altering the end result. Russian President Vladimir Putin has mentioned Ukrainian-operated F-16s will “burn” similar to different Western-supplied gear.
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