Washington. May 31. INTERFAX - The United States is confident that Ukraine, if it receives F-16 fighters, will not use them against Russian territory, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
"Yes, we are sure," Kirby said, answering a journalist's question about whether Washington is sure that the guarantees of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky not to use F-16s against Russian territory if they are received are still in force.
"And we have received these assurances at various levels: not only from President Zelensky, but also from other high-ranking military leaders and leaders from the defense sector," Kirby added.
The coalition to train Ukrainian pilots for the F-16 is led by the Netherlands and Denmark. Earlier in May, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin said that the defense ministers of these two countries, together with the United States and other allies, will work on developing a pilot training plan in the coming weeks. He noted that Norway, Belgium, Portugal and Poland have already offered their assistance in training Ukrainian pilots.
Earlier, US Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said that the training and any possible transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine are designed to meet its medium- and long-term defense needs, and not for use in the short term.
On May 21, US President Joe Biden stated that it was not worth waiting for the delivery of these aircraft in the near future. He explained that, in his opinion, the F-16 is not needed for the military operations that Kiev is currently planning. Biden also said that he had received assurances from Zelensky that the Ukrainian side, in case of receiving F-16s, would not use them against Russian territory.
At a meeting of G7 leaders, Biden announced his readiness to support plans to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets.
