The US has again backed down under pressure from European allies and Ukraine’s leaders and agreed to provide more sophisticated weapons to the war effort. This time it’s about F-16 fighter jets.
Dramatic drone footage shows Russian shelling of Bakhmut, but Ukrainians hope their pilots can patrol this airspace in F16 fighter jets following an announcement by the US government.
The new plan would allow several nations to supply the fourth-generation aircraft and for the United States to help train the pilots.
President Joe Biden presented the agreement to a meeting of world leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join the G7 leaders later on Saturday.
The decision marks a dramatic breakthrough in Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts to secure access to the modern military jets. Repeatedly in recent months, senior US officials have steadfastly rejected sending F16s to Ukraine, amid concerns that the move would anger the Russians and provoke President Vladimir Putin into escalating the war.
These delays have been extremely frustrating for the Ukrainians fighting and dying along Ukraine’s eastern front, with the long, tough battle for bombed-out Bakhmut, a city 90% controlled by Russia, continuing with little sign of an end in sight.
Drone footage posted on a Telegram channel purportedly belonging to soldiers from Ukraine’s Signum special forces shows violent shelling of apartment buildings.
Both Ukraine and Russia’s mercenary Wagner groups said the Russians have made retreats from areas around the city. Russians shell access routes to slow Ukrainian advance.
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