Jake Sullivan, the US president's national security adviser, clarified President Joe Biden's comments on Sunday that Ukraine does not need F-16 fighter jets yet.
He said this in an interview with the ABC TV channel.
Sullivan reiterated that the White House is giving first priority to the urgent needs of this war and will continue to do so.
"At every stage of this war, the president tried to make sure that the Ukrainian military got what they needed," Sullivan said.
"In the first phase, when they were defending Kyiv, it was Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger anti-aircraft systems. And it worked. It helped Ukraine defend Kyiv. In the second phase, it was heavy artillery to help them defend against the Russians who were advancing in eastern Ukraine "At this stage, the critical element is the ability to maneuver on the ground. And that means tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles," Sullivan said.
According to him, "what the president says means that he is focused on these opportunities."
"The F-16 is an afterthought," Sullivan said in another CNN interview, adding, "That's why President Biden said he's not moving forward with it yet."
It will be recalled that President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that three more European countries, in addition to Poland, expressed their readiness to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
