US approves up to $350 million in Ukraine F-16 training, support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his US President Donald Trump (Courtesy: Reuters file photo)

The US State Department approved F-16 fighter-jet training and services for Ukraine worth up to $350 million, signaling that the White House will keep supporting Kyiv in the fight against Russia despite President Donald Trump’s impatience to end the war.

The approval by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which still needs Congressional signoff, covers services including personnel training, modifications, repairs, ground handling and software upgrades, it said in a statement Friday.

Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets, made by Lockheed Martin Corp. and supplied by NATO nations including Denmark and the Netherlands, are among traditional weapon systems the country sought from the US and allies during its fight against Russia since 2022.

While Washington approved the transfer of F-16s, along with M1 Abrams battle tanks and long-range missiles, American officials argued that manpower and drones — not advanced weapon systems — were the key to Ukraine repelling Russia.

“There’s not a straight line between those weapons systems and how it does on the battlefield,” President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told PBS News Hour shortly before the end of Biden’s term. “Where is the straightest line between Ukrainian performance and inputs? It’s on mobilization and manpower.”

Trump has sought to push both sides toward agreeing to a ceasefire roughly along the current battle lines, a shift from Biden, who along with European allies sought to expel President Vladimir Putin’s forces from Ukraine. While the US has been able to squeeze concessions from Kyiv, Trump has recently voiced frustration with Putin’s refusal to accept a ceasefire.