Biden says he’ll speak with Zelenskyy after rejecting Kyiv request for jets

President Biden answered a query Tuesday about Ukrainian requests for added U.S. weapons by saying he’s “going to speak” to his counterpart in Kyiv, a pledge that got here at some point after his flat “no” when he was requested about America sending fighter jets to Ukraine.

En path to New York for an occasion highlighting home infrastructure laws he signed in late 2021, Biden was requested by reporters if he had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lately and what he would inform him about requests for additional navy aide in Ukraine’s warfare effort towards Russia. Biden stated solely that he would speak to Zelenskyy and didn’t elaborate additional.

Tuesday’s feedback adopted Biden’s preliminary rejection a day earlier of speak that the U.S. would possibly provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. POLITICO reported Monday that there haven’t but been any critical, high-level dialogue about F-16s for Kyiv.

Biden’s feedback come as Ukraine continues to push NATO to ship fighter jets, a proposition that has but to achieve broad help from Ukraine’s western allies — although France and Poland have expressed an openness to sharing jets.