US risks rift with European allies over hesitancy to supply F-16s to Ukraine

UK and Netherlands want to create ‘international coalition’ to procure US-made fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots and crews

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Washington risks opening a rift with European allies over its reluctance to contemplate supplying F-16 fighters to Ukraine, with the issue likely to crop up at the forthcoming G7 summit in Japan.

This week, after Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Europe, the UK and the Netherlands said they would create an “international coalition” to procure the US-made F-16s and train Ukrainian pilots and crews.