The United States will not supply its F-16 fighters to Kiev.
Joe Biden clarified this by answering with a sharp "No" to journalists who asked him if he was in favor of sending jets to the forces of Kiev who are asking for them more and more insistently these days.
On sending jets, Polish premier Mateusz Morawiecki specified that a decision will only be taken in "full coordination" with NATO, but Berlin is also on the same wavelength as Washington: "It's the wrong time" to discuss it , said German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann, reiterating Chancellor Scholz's words that in any case "there are no" fighter planes at stake.
Paris, on the other hand, appeared less categorical. Emmanuel Macron did not rule it out, underlining that there are "criteria" to be respected before any decision: an officially "formulated request" by Ukraine, that "there is no escalation", that "Russian soil is not touched and finally that "the capacity of the French army should not be weakened".
Still on the military aid front, Italy's supply of Samp/T anti-aircraft defense systems to Kiev is becoming more and more concrete : "It is probable that they will be sent," said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, emphasizing that before any move "Parliament will be informed by Defense Minister Crosetto". A support, the Italian one, which will materialize precisely with the contribution of France, while the confirmation of an agreement with Rome for the manufacture of another 700 Aster anti-aircraft missiles has arrived from Paris. Not to send them to Kiev, it is assured by Italian sources, but to "update the air defenses of the two countries".
Beijing has taken sides against the shipment of arms to Kiev. After asking NATO to put aside its "Cold War mentality", he attacked the United States: "They should stop sending weapons and reap the benefits of war", warned the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Mao Ning. While for Moscow the continued shipment of arms to Kiev "is a dead-end situation that leads to a significant escalation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned.
