In a rare hint, a prominent US senator has indicated the possibility of providing Ukraine with fighter jets, to enhance its ability to counter the year-old Russian military offensive.
In an interview with “Agence France Presse”, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, said that he will go to the Munich Security Conference, accompanied by his influential Republican colleague Lindsey Graham, in order to “reassure his country’s allies that the support of the US Congress for Ukraine remains the same.”
Whitehouse confirmed before traveling to Munich to attend the largest global security conference, that the United States will continue to provide massive aid to Ukraine, despite the opposition of a section of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to this matter.
Reports confirm that Russia has lost about half of its best tanks
The fighters are approaching
• For the senator from Rhode Island, it is “possible” that an agreement will be reached in Munich on supplying Ukraine with combat aircraft, to enhance its capabilities to confront Russian attacks.
• However, the Democratic senator urged “other allies” to contribute to this aid, in order to “nullify the accusations leveled by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the United States that it is waging a proxy war against his country in Ukraine.”
• Despite the variety of military aid provided by Washington to Kiev over the past year, US President Joe Biden has so far opposed sending fighter jets to Ukraine.
• Other Western powers, including Britain and Germany, have previously ruled out sending military aircraft to Ukraine, despite repeated appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Bakhmut.. the center of the ongoing battles in eastern Ukraine
Whitehouse stressed that “America supports Ukraine with both parties and in both chambers of Congress.”
And he considered that the opposition of the hard-line wing of the Republican Party to continuing to provide massive aid to Ukraine is greatly exaggerated.
He said that these lawmakers “are getting media attention, but I think the vast majority of them, including House Republicans, want to continue to support Ukraine as long as there are no corruption concerns.”
