Ukraine pleads for fighter jets

U.S.: No news on combat aircraft as 1-year anniversary nears

BRUSSELS — Ukraine on Tuesday renewed its appeal to Western countries for fighter jets to help frustrate Moscow’s almost yearlong invasion, but won no assurances at a high-level defense meeting in Brussels that it would receive any combat aircraft.

“I don’t have any announcements on aircraft to make today,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters, where 54 countries were represented.

Even so, Ukraine’s allies pledged more weapons, ammunition and tanks as senior defense officials at the meeting said the war with Russia is approaching a critical stage.

“This isn’t about one single capability,” Austin told a news conference, referring to the warplanes. “It’s about delivering all the capabilities that we promised. It’s about integrating these systems together.”

The first challenge, he said, is to make sure all the military aid is used effectively.

“It’s a monumental task to bring all those systems together and get the troops trained on those platforms,” he said.

As Moscow musters its forces for a potential push in eastern Ukraine, Austin said Kyiv could launch its own offensive in the spring.

With the war set to enter its second year at the end of next week, Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov was in Brussels to press his country’s case for fighter jets, holding up an image of a warplane when asked what military aid his country is seeking.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed hard for combat planes last week when he visited London, Paris and Brussels on just his second foreign trip since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, 2022. His plea came days after Western allies pledged to provide Kyiv with tanks.