Some countries in Europe are interested in providing Ukraine with fighter jets – Nuland 

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland gave an interview to the The Washington Post Live platform.

Nuland said the United States needs to be sure that whenever the war stops, Ukraine is strong enough to defend itself and to deter Putin from coming back. 

“We need to think about a strong integrated air defense for Ukraine, which will include some things that we have already given, but probably the thing we haven’t yet given, the training for that. We are looking at all those things in addition to working on  supporting Ukrainians in the battles ahead,” the official said.

Nuland was also asked about the possible transfer of fourth (F-14, F-15, and F-16) and fifth (F-22 and F-35) generation US fighter jets to Ukraine.

“You know, we continue to have these conversations both internally, as we are looking at long-term air defense, and with Ukraine,” she replied.

The undersecretary of state for political affairs added that there are several European countries that are interested in such supplies to Ukraine.

It is worth noting that fifth-generation fighters are currently the most advanced. In particular, they can fly at supersonic speeds without the use of afterburner (jet engine mode) and are used to destroy air, ground, and surface targets. In Russia, such an aircraft is currently the Su-57.

• Also on February 23, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that combat aircraft available to NATO member states could be transferred to Ukraine.