The United States presently excludes the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden told ABC News.

Despite repeated public calls by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to provide modern combat aircraft, Joe Biden says he has “so far” ruled out the possibility of transferring American F-16 multi-role fighter jets to Ukraine.

Asked by a journalist whether Ukraine needed fighter jets now, Biden replied: “No, it doesn’t need F-16s right now”.

Currently, the US military considers other support which is more important for the current stage of the war.

“Look, we’re sending him what our seasoned military thinks he needs now. He needs tanks, he needs artillery, he needs air defense, including another HIMAR[S] (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System),” Biden said.

“There’s things he needs now that we’re sending him to put them in a position to be able to make gains this spring and this summer going into the fall,” he added.

An ABC News journalist asked if that meant Ukraine would “never” get combat aircraft, and the president replied that it was impossible to know exactly what Ukrainian defense would need in the future.

“At the moment, according to our military, there is not enough reason to provide F-16. I’m ruling it out for now,” the US president said.

It should be reminded that this month, five congressmen from both parties have called on the US president to give Ukraine F-16 fighters. They argue that fighter jets can become crucial for controlling Ukraine’s airspace.

According to them, “the provision of such aircraft is necessary to help Ukraine protect its airspace, particularly in light of renewed Russian offensives and considering the expected increase in large-scale combat operations”.

According to lawmakers, the fighter jets – either F-16s or something similar – would increase the capability of Ukrainian forces.