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The United States is exploring whether it can send U.S.-made fighter jets to Ukraine, a White House spokesman told reporters, as the conflict with Russia is about to enter its sixth month and fighting rages in eastern Ukraine.
While the Biden administration was making preliminary explorations into the feasibility of potentially providing the jets to Ukraine, the move is not something that would be done immediately, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing.
“It’s not something that would be executed in the near-term,” Kirby said.
Such a move would be a major increase in U.S. support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia and amount to direct involvement in the conflict. So far the United States has provided $8.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine.
Kirby also disclosed details of the latest U.S. arms package for Ukraine, which totaled $270 million to aid in its defense against Russian aggression, including $100 million for drones.
The package, authorized by U.S. President Joe Biden, will allow Kiev to acquire 580 of privately held AEVEX Aerospace LLC’s Phoenix Ghost unmanned aerial vehicles, Kirby said.
The package includes another tranche of up to around $175 million for other defense aid, a separate White House memo said.
It would include more high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) and other weapons that Ukrainians are using on the battlefield, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The additional U.S. funding comes as Ukraine seeks to fend off Moscow as the worst conflict in Europe since World War Two continued into its fifth month. more
President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukraine War Taking Dangerous Turn
this week said his forces could inflict major damage on Russia as Kyiv leans on Western weapons in planned efforts to launch a counterattack and recapture territory.
Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa on Saturday, the Ukrainian military claimed, threatening a deal signed just the day before to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.
Zelensky said the strike showed Moscow could not be trusted to implement the deal. However, public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not caused significant damage and a government minister said preparations continued to restart grain exports from the country’s Black Sea ports.
The deal signed on Friday by Moscow and Kyiv and mediated by the United Nations and Turkey was hailed as a breakthrough after nearly five months of punishing fighting since Russia invaded its neighbor. It is seen as crucial to curbing soaring global food prices by allowing grain exports to be shipped from Black Sea ports including Odesa.
UN officials had said on Friday they hoped the agreement would be operational in a few weeks and the strike on Odesa drew strong condemnation from Kyiv, the United Nations and the United States.
Turkey’s defense minister said Russian officials had told Ankara that Moscow had “nothing to do” with the strikes on Odesa. A Russian defense ministry statement on Saturday outlining progress in the war did not mention any strike in Odesa.
Two Russian Kalibr missiles hit the area of a pumping station at the Odesa port, while another two missiles were shot down by air defense forces, according to Ukraine’s Operational Command South’s allegations. Yuriy Ignat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, said the cruise missiles were fired from warships in the Black Sea near Crimea.
Supilne later quoted the spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, Natalia Humeniuk, was quoted as saying the port’s grain storage area was not hit. No casualties have been reported.
Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook that “we continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports”.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusai Akar said in a statement that “In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack, and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail”.
“The fact that such an incident took place right after the agreement we made yesterday really worried us,” he added.
Ukraine has mined waters near its ports as part of its war defenses, but under the deal pilots will guide ships along safe channels in its territorial waters.
A Joint Coordination Center (JCC) staffed by members of all four parties to the agreement will then monitor ships transiting the Black Sea to Turkey’s Bosphorus strait and off to world markets.
All sides agreed on Friday there would be no attacks on these entities and that it would be the task of JCC to resolve if any prohibited activity is observed.
The U.S. ambassador to Kyiv, Bridget Brink, wrote on Twitter, “The Kremlin continues to weaponize food. Russia must be held to account”.
Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing its own food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine for mining the approaches to its Black Sea ports.
