Zelenskyy and Biden Discuss Supplying Ukraine with F-16s and Punishing Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, had a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Joe Biden on the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day, during which the two leaders discussed the supply of F-16 fighters and bringing Russia to justice.

"On behalf of the American people, President Biden expressed his admiration for the bravery and sacrifice of the Ukrainian people fighting for their freedom and their secure future," the the White House states.

The leaders of the states reportedly spoke about speeding up the approval process for other nations to transfer their aircraft to Ukraine after the exercises are completed, as well as the start of the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters.

President Biden reaffirmed the United States' resolve to support Ukraine in fending off Russian aggression for however long it takes and to hold Russia accountable for its actions.

Earlier, it was reported that the United States would soon join the programme to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters.

Before that the Pentagon stated the US would train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets if European countries fell behind their schedule or if the number of pilots increases significantly.

Ukrainian pilots are known to have already started training on F-16 fighter jets in Denmark. Greece and Portugal will also train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16s.

Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway announced their decision to send these aircraft to Kyiv after training is complete.