No news about fighter jets for Ukraine, Pentagon head says
Lloyd Austin (Photo:REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
The latest Ramstein format meeting brought no news about potential transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a press briefing on Feb. 14.
“I don’t have any announcements to make on the issue of aircraft, today,” he said.
“We are going to continue to work with Ukraine to address Ukraine’s most pressing needs.”
Austin added that the United States and its allies expect a Ukrainian offensive in the spring of 2023 and have “a lot to get done” in order to provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with armored vehicles and adequate firepower, in time.
On Feb. 14, the ninth meeting in the Ramstein format, where defense ministers of Kyiv’s international partners gather to address Ukraine’s security needs, was held at NATO HQ in Brussels. The meeting was attended by representatives of 54 countries.
Subsequent media reports said that Sunak instructed UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to look into which of its aircraft London could make available to Kyiv. The final decision hasn’t yet been made.
After addressing the European Parliament and at the EU summit, Zelensky said that regarding fighter jets, there were “certain positive decisions” that have been made “behind the scenes.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that some European partners of Ukraine have already “taken up” the issue of fighter jets.
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