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The US, unlike Germany, refuses to supply Ukraine with fighter jets

The US, unlike Germany, refuses to supply Ukraine with fighter jets

President Joe Biden said the US would not supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.

The US president, asked at the White House if his country would provide the F-16, simply replied "no", days after national security officials had said Washington would discuss the issue with allies.

John Kirby, the US National Security Council's coordinator for strategic communications, later defended the decision, pointing to other military aid the US has sent since the start of the war, which totals $27.1 billion.

"What I can tell you is that there are a lot of capabilities that are being shipped and will be shipped in the coming weeks and months," Kirby told CNN.

Ukraine had begun a high-profile lobbying campaign for the fighters, made by US defense company Lockheed Martin, almost immediately after Germany and the US said they would supply their tanks to Ukraine for the first time.

Other European leaders had indicated they were open to supplying the jets as Ukraine tries to build a fighting force based increasingly on Western weapons to break Russian lines in the spring.

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