Germany may reconsider its position on supplying fighter jets to Ukraine – Pistorius

DW reports with reference to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

"We are now in a phase of rethinking and checking what is possible and what we want and can do. I think we will decide within the next two weeks," the minister said.

Pistorius said that there are no plans to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine in the near future.

It is reported that Germany should reconsider its policy over the past decades.

"German society and German politics have really changed their minds. If someone had told me two years ago that Germany would supply heavy weapons worth 3-5 billion euros, I would not have believed it," Pistorius added.

As a reminder, on May 17, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany does not intend to participate in a "coalition of fighter jets" for Ukraine.

What is known about the supply of F-16s to Ukraine

On May 16, the leaders of Britain and the Netherlands, Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte, agreed to create a coalition of fighter jets for Ukraine.

The Pentagon is convinced that the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine will take several months.

After the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Ramstein,officials reported that the coalition to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces with F-16s will be led by Denmark and the Netherlands, and will include four other countries.

On May 20, the Defense Ministry of Ukraine announced that Kyiv hopes to receive the first modern American F-16 fighters in the fall of 2023. The country needs 40-50 aircraft in total.

On May 29, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the country is ready to support Ukraine as long as necessary, including by strengthening air defence and training F-16 pilots.

On June 2, US President Joe Biden said that the United States and its partners will work together to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter jets, including the F-16.  

On June 5, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced that the Defense Forces will not use F-16s during the counteroffensive that is to begin this summer.