A senior US lawmaker said during a visit to Ukraine's capital that the momentum in Washington is shifting toward sending the long-range missiles and fighter jets that Kyiv wants as it battles Russian encroachment.

Reuters writes about it.

Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Biden administration and the National Security Council are still at odds over "how quickly and what weapons" to send to Ukraine, which wants ATACMS and F-16 missiles.

"But I see a growing momentum to bring in artillery and aircraft," he told reporters in central Kyiv.

"And in any case, we can start training the pilots right now so that they are ready," he added.

After Russia's attack on February 24, Washington allocated $24 billion in security assistance, but has so far refrained from sending aircraft and long-range missiles.

McCaul was in Kyiv as part of a congressional delegation just a day after US President Joe Biden pledged $500 million in new military aid during a surprise visit to the city.

A lawmaker who met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said the Ukrainian leader gave him a wish list of weapons, including F-16s and ATACMS, which he said were designed to "go all the way to Crimea" and to strike Iranian drones that recently were used in the air.

It will be recalled that the Financial Times wrote that the USA may eventually transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine or will give a "green light" to the transfer of these aircraft from other countries.

At the same time, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, after the Rammstein-style meeting on February 14, 2023, answered the question about fighter jets for Ukraine in this way: "This is a question about which I have nothing to say."

Read also:

  • For the sake of conditions in favor of the Armed Forces: Austin announced which weapons would be transferred to Ukraine for the offensive in the spring

  • Ukraine will be in NATO: a military analyst listed the main signs

  • The promotion game: why the ninth Ramstein did not become aviation, and what Biden is preparing for Putin until February 24

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