The United Kingdom said it was not practical to send fighter jets to Ukraine after Kyiv said it would now push to secure the vehicles. The new push follows Kyiv’s securing of battle tanks from the West.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters on Tuesday that it was not practical to send fighter jets to Ukraine due to the lengthy training time. This follows the West’s pledges to send tanks to Ukraine, with Germany pledging to send its Leopard tanks while authorizing other countries to transfer their Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
“The UK’s fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine,” said the spokesperson. “We will continue to discuss with our allies about what we think is the right approach.”
The Spanish government plans to send Ukraine up to six of its German-made Leopard 2 tanks, according to the newspaper El Pais on Wednesday, citing government sources familiar with the matter. The sources added that the actual number of tanks that would be provided would depend on the condition of the tanks that are in storage and how many other countries will provide such tanks to Ukraine.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that Kyiv expects to receive around 120 to 140 Western tanks from 12 countries in a first wave. Kuleba said the tanks include the German-made Leopard 2, British Challenger 2, and US M1 Abrams tanks. Ukraine is also expecting to receive French-made Leclerc tanks as well.
Two US officials told Reuters on Tuesday that Washington is preparing its next military assistance package for Ukraine worth over $2 billion. The upcoming package would include longer-range rockets for the first time and other munitions and weapons. The aid is expected to be formally announced in the coming days this week.
The upcoming aid package would include support equipment for Patriot air defense systems, precision-guided munitions, and Javelin anti-tank weapons. One of the officials said a portion of the package would come from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, allowing President Joe Biden’s administration to get weapons from the industry instead of the existing US stocks.