The White House on Sunday defended its decision not to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, despite Republican criticism and growing concern that China will aid Russia in the ongoing war.
While Ukraine has recently won support from the Baltic nations and Poland for Western fighter jets, larger countries such as the United States and Britain have continued to refuse to supply warplanes to Kiev. President Joe Biden, who made a surprise visit to Kiev last week to reaffirm US support, said on Friday he was continuing to rule out supplying F-16 jets to the country, which is still struggling with its massive shutdown a year later.
On Sunday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan defended Biden’s decision, noting that the United States is providing adequate military assistance to Ukrainian soldiers to retake Russian-occupied regions.
“We are watching very carefully what Ukraine needs for the immediate phase of the war we are in. And this stage of the war requires tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, artillery, tactical air defense. systems so that Ukrainian fighters can retake territory that Russia currently occupies,” Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“The F-16s are a question for a later date. And that’s why President Biden said he’s not moving forward with these right now,” he continued. “As far as we’re concerned, the U.S. effort must be to provide Ukraine with the tools it needs for the mission at hand. And the mission at hand is to have a successful counter-offensive where Ukraine can take back its own territory, away from Russian hands.”
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Biden’s decision drew backlash from GOP lawmakers, some of whom want the United States to provide military aircraft to Ukraine and others who want the administration to focus less on war and more on domestic concerns.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that if the United States provides fighter jets and long-range artillery, Ukraine could be closer to ending the war. McCaul, who led a delegation to Kiev just a day after Biden’s visit, said the F-16s would be able to travel to Ukraine at “high speed” and “take out targets.”
“I went to the Munich Security Conference, I met many high-ranking military officials, including our Supreme Allied Commander, all of whom are in favor of fielding not only the F-16, but also long-range artillery action to eliminate Iranian drones in Crimea. ,” the lawmaker told ABC’s “This Week” from the Ukrainian peninsula that has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
“Actually, the word we kept hearing was that we have to put it all out there,” she continued. “I know the administration says ‘as long as it takes.’ I think with the right weapons it shouldn’t take that long, and frankly, this whole thing is taking way too long. And it really didn’t have to happen like this.”
Friday marked one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and fighting continued to intensify. On Saturday, the Ukrainian military reported 27 airstrikes and 75 attacks from multiple rocket launchers in a 24-hour period.
The concern over sending US fighter jets to Ukraine comes as tensions rise over whether China will send military aid to help Russia win the war. McCaul called the relationship between Russia and China an “unholy alliance” and expressed deep concern about the upcoming meeting between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China has created what it says is a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine, but Sullivan said Xi has yet to speak to Zelensky since the war began a year ago.
“It’s very difficult to push any kind of peace initiative when this kind of one-sided diplomacy is going on,” the adviser told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Sullivan declined to elaborate on a hypothetical U.S. response should China aid Russia in the war, stressing that no such move by China has occurred.
“When China talks rhetorically about the war in Ukraine, they get confused, because they know that going all-in with Russia in this war in Ukraine would alienate a considerable number of countries with whom they work hard to maintain good relations.” he said.
“So from our point of view, actually, this war has real complications for Beijing. And Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how to proceed if it provides military assistance,” Sullivan continued. “But if it goes down that road, it will have real costs for China. And I think Chinese leaders weigh that as they make their decisions.”
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