Pentagon: West to find ‘creative ways’ to increase production of war supplies

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin took part in an online meeting with his Western counterparts to discuss the issue of ongoing military aid to Ukraine. This reported The Associated Press (AP) on Thursday. The summit should also deal with how the western states, which see their arms stocks at risk because of the aid to Ukraine, could continue to support Kiev. AP quotes Austin as saying:

“We must dig deeper and continue to look for creative ways to increase our industrial capability. The stakes are high. But the cause is just and our will is strong.”

The Pentagon chief also said he hopes to start training Ukrainian fighter pilots on the F-16 jets in the coming weeks because:

“This will further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force in the long term.”

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that training for Ukrainian pilots had started in Poland and some other countries, it said AP. Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, on the other hand, said pilot training was still in the planning phase. The Netherlands and Denmark are also reportedly planning to train Ukrainian fighter pilots.

Scholz dampens Kiev’s hope for rapid delivery of fighter jets

The United States had previously announced its willingness to train Ukrainian pilots for the first time. This should also apply to US-made F-16 jets. A delivery of Western fighter jets to Kiev is also no longer ruled out. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis called this a “very important step forward”. The planned F-16 coalition has “a strong European dimension,” emphasized Landsbergis. According to him, the Netherlands and other countries could supply a number of jet fighters.

more on the subject – US authorizes delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine