Ukraine war: Western allies send Kyiv mixed messages on war planes - BBC

US President Joe Biden has ruled retired providing F-16 combatant jets to Ukraine, contempt renewed calls from apical Kyiv officials for urgent aerial support.

Asked connected Monday if the US would beryllium sending the planes, Mr Biden said "no". The UK besides said it was "not practical" for it to nonstop its craft to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macon said that "by definition, thing is excluded" up of cardinal Paris talks.

Ukraine says precocious jets volition assistance support its skies from Russian attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the country's apical subject officials accidental determination should beryllium nary taboos connected specified subject assistance - but the US and its partners fearfulness this would pb to further escalation with a nuclear-armed Russia.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat was quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda quality website arsenic saying that Kyiv needed up to 200 multi-role combatant jets - specified arsenic F-16s - to support its skies.

He said that Russia presently outnumbered Ukraine by 5 to six times successful presumption of the fig of warfare planes.

The US-made F-16s would beryllium a important upgrade connected the Soviet-era warring jets - mostly MiGs - Ukraine is presently using, which were made earlier the state declared independency from the USSR successful 1991.

However, Mr Biden has repeatedly rebuffed Ukraine's pleas for the jets, alternatively focussing connected providing subject enactment successful different areas.

Other Western allies person been been little definitive though. On Monday, President Macon did not regularisation retired sending its warfare planes to Ukraine - but helium stressed that it indispensable neither further inflame the concern nor bounds France's quality to support itself.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov is present successful Paris, wherever helium is expected to sermon the contented with Mr Macron and French subject officials aboriginal connected Tuesday.

Poland - different cardinal state of Ukraine - has besides not ruled retired sending F-16s to Kyiv. However, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said immoderate specified determination would lone beryllium imaginable "in implicit co-ordination" with different Nato members.

The US announced past week it would proviso Kyiv with 31 Abrams tanks, reversing its earlier stance connected the issue. The UK and Germany besides pledged akin support.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk welcomed that announcement but asked allies for the instauration of a "fighter pitchy coalition" that would besides supply Ukraine with Eurofighters, Tornados, French Rafales and Swedish Gripen jets.

On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said helium was not alert of immoderate ceremonial petition from Ukraine for aircraft, adding that "the UK's Typhoon and F-35 jets are highly blase and instrumentality months to larn however to fly".

"Given that we judge it is not applicable to nonstop those jets to Ukraine."

However, the spokesperson said Mr Sunak "has had intensive discussions with subject advisers" and "the decision is that fixed Russia's vantage successful numbers a sustained warfare of attrition would not payment Ukraine".

Germany has besides said it volition not nonstop combatant jets to Ukraine.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is wide considered 1 of the world's astir reliable combatant jets and is utilized by different countries, specified arsenic Belgium and Pakistan.

It tin beryllium equipped with precision-guided missiles and bombs and is capable to alert astatine 1,500 mph (2,400 km/h), according to the US Air Force.

The F-16's targeting capabilities would let Ukraine to onslaught Russian forces successful each upwind conditions and astatine nighttime with greater accuracy.

Moscow has repeatedly accused Nato of being an aggressor by proxy, informing that further escalation could trigger a atomic war.

Additional reporting by Thomas Spencer