Zelenskyy arrives at G7 after Ukraine wins access to US-made F-16 jet fighters.
Zelenskyy’s arrival at the G7 summit comes a day after winning long-sought access to advanced US fighter jets and training for Ukrainian pilots.
His surprise appearance in Japan follows shortly after he welcomed as “historic” Biden’s decision to allow Ukrainian pilots to train to fly F-16 fighters.
Until now the Biden administration had effectively vetoed the transfer of F-16s, with US officials citing long pilot training times and the risk of escalating the conflict with Russia.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan insists there was no U-turn in US policy.
“We’ve reached a moment where it’s time to look down the road and to say ‘What is Ukraine going to need … to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression?’”
“F-16s, fourth-generation fighter aircraft, are part of that mix,” Sullivan told reporters on Saturday.
“We are going to do everything we can to support Ukraine in its defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we are also going to proceed in a way that avoids World War III,” he added.
Source: Aljazeera
Richard Koomson| mediacentralonline.info |Ghana
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