The Pentagon says it will take a year and a half for the United States to supply Ukraine with F-16s
Colin Kahl suggested spending the money on other types of weapons
It will take the United States a year and a half to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, if such a decision is made, said Deputy Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl.
Source. He said this during a speech at Foreign Policy.
"We could spend all the money on F-16s, and these aircraft would arrive within a year and a half, starting now," he said.
According to him, if Washington had decided to transfer the fighter jets to Kyiv, they would not have helped Ukraine in its spring and summer counteroffensive.
In addition, the Pentagon spokesperson expressed fears of the US authorities about the possible use of American weapons and military equipment to strike Russia.
"U.S. President Joe Biden also made it clear that while we are doing everything we can to support Ukraine, the United States is not interested in directly entering the conflict and transforming it into a third world war," Kahl said.
He also reminded that the US resources to help Ukraine are "extraordinary" but not unlimited.
"Obviously, we have an extraordinary amount of money that Congress has allocated to support Ukraine's defense, but it is not unlimited," the Deputy Secretary of Defense said.
The US budget for fiscal year 2023 envisages that Ukraine may receive up to $45 billion in aid.
In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Washington has provided Kyiv with military support worth more than $30 billion.
Background. As a reminder, South Korea "lent" the United States 500,000 shells, which will help supply ammunition to Ukraine. At the same time, the government of the country professes the principle of not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine.
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