‘Not ruling out’: UK minister on sending jets to war-hit Ukraine

The United States has dominated out any deliveries of F-16s to Ukraine for now, however different companions together with Poland, have proven themselves extra open to the thought.

Kyiv,UPDATED: Feb 3, 2023 03:06 IST

US Air Force F-16 fighter jets put together to land at an airbase in Ben Guerir, about 58 kilometres north of Marrakesh, through the “African Lion” army train (Photo: AFP/File)

By Agence France-Presse: The UK defence minister on Thursday mentioned he didn’t rule out supplying Ukraine with fighter jets whereas cautioning they’d not be a “magic wand” within the battle.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace instructed journalists: “On the process of jets, I’ve been pretty clear. One thing I’ve learned over the last year is don’t rule anything in, don’t rule anything out.”

Kyiv has requested American-made F-16 warplanes to assist repel the Russian invasion.

The United States has dominated out any deliveries of F-16s to Ukraine for now, however different companions, together with Poland, have proven themselves extra open to the thought.

“I’m very open to examining all sorts of systems, and not just jets, to give Ukraine that assistance,” Wallace mentioned.

The minister mentioned that “these things don’t always happen overnight. But I can say, we’re not putting the Ukrainians at risk.” His feedback got here after Downing Street had appeared to rule out sending its fight planes.

“The UK’s Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly,” the prime minister’s official spokesman mentioned Tuesday.

“Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine.”

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Britain’s authorities mentioned in January it was aiming to ship tanks to Ukraine on the finish of March, after changing into the primary Western ally to vow heavy assault autos, with a plan to ship 14 Challenger 2 tanks.

Wallace mentioned that Kyiv’s rapid want was for weaponry to permit army formations on the bottom to push again Russian troops, and it was “easy to get carried away”.

Supplying fighter jets wouldn’t be an in a single day recreation changer because of the want for complicated coaching, he added.

“You know, even if tomorrow morning we announced we were going to put them in fast jets that would take months,” he mentioned, as Ukrainians would face “suddenly having to learn to pilot” them.

“So there is no magic wand in this horrendous conflict,” Wallace mentioned, talking at a press convention in Portsmouth in southern England together with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles.

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Published On:

Feb 3, 2023