Neither Germany nor Great Britain want to supply Ukraine with fighter jets – on the grounds that aircraft are not decisive for Ukraine's war.
Berlin – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's request to supply Ukraine with modern fighter jets, such as the F-16, has fallen on deaf ears with his partners in the West several times since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Now there has been another joint rejection from Germany and Great Britain.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had promised on Tuesday (16 May) that there was a plan between the UK and the Netherlands to form an "international coalition" to support Ukraine in the procurement of fighter jets and pilot training, as reported by the British Guardian.
Once again, Ukraine's Western partners have ruled out an imminent delivery of F-16 fighter jets for the time being. (Archive photo) © Harald Tittel/dpa
Fighter jet delivery to Ukraine: Neither Germany nor Britain can deliver F-16s
On Wednesday (17 May), British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius announced at a joint press conference in Berlin that there are no plans from either the German or British side to supply fighter jets to Ukraine. Instead, Wallace warned against viewing the delivery of fighter jets as a "magic wand" that could bring about a decision in the Ukraine war. The United States, as the manufacturing country of the F-16 fighter jets from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin, is also refusing to supply Ukraine with fighter jets for the moment.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (both SPD) reiterated that Germany would not supply fighter jets. "We don't have F-16 fighter jets. And neither Tornadoes nor Eurofighters are suitable to help now – especially since training and much more are far too costly to help Ukraine in the short term," Pistorius said. At the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik, Scholz also once again rejected a fighter jet delivery and stressed that they wanted to concentrate on expanding Ukraine's capabilities to "defend itself".
Fighter jets in the Ukraine war: Alternatives to replace fighter jet capabilities
Wallace stressed that in the short term it is more crucial to equip Ukraine with capabilities comparable to those of fighter jets – without having to train pilots for a long time. This was achieved, for example, by the delivery of the Storm Shadow cruise missile, Wallace said. Wallace also emphasized the effectiveness of the air defense systems supplied by Germany to Ukraine.
In principle, some European countries, including Great Britain and France, have meanwhile announced that they will train Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets. However, this is about long-term capability, Wallace emphasized, which means that the planned pilot training could possibly only become relevant after the end of the Ukraine war. (saka with dpa/AFP
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