The F-16 question was part of a larger discussion over the conduct of the war and what Kyiv needs to succeed in its plans to go on the offensive, and blunt Russian offensives across hundreds of miles of front lines. Cavoli said Ukraine needs longer-range missiles to allow its forces to strike Russian positions from farther away, putting headquarters and rear supply lines at risk, which would help disrupt the Russian war machine inside Ukraine.
The general’s answer goes further than previous public comments by top national security officials, who have said they haven’t ruled out sending fighter jets in the future, but also note that air defenses are the most urgent current need.
Cavoli told the lawmakers at the Munich Security Conference that the U.S. and its allies should send the most advanced weapons they can part with to Ukraine. That included advanced aircraft, drones and missiles with ranges over 62 miles (100 kilometers), such as the Army Tactical Missile System. Those weapons would do a better job positioning Kyiv to repel Moscow’s troops, Cavoli said.
The general, who serves as both the supreme allied commander for Europe and as head of U.S. European Command, argued that Ukraine needs more advanced weapons and equipment to “enhance the deep fight,” per one of five people. A second person said Cavoli believes the West should equip Ukraine to “reach further” into Russian positions within Ukraine’s border.
A spokesperson for the general didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The remarks come as the transatlantic debate on whether to provide Kyiv with advanced aircraft has intensified.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long called for fighter jets, arguing that Ukrainian pilots are skilled enough to train on Western-made warplanes and control the skies despite Russia’s air defenses. But President Joe Biden and some European leaders have so far rebuffed that request, saying that the provision of tanks and artillery are more important for the current phase of the war.
That stance has frustrated advocates of providing Ukraine with whatever the U.S. can afford to hand over. “The F-16s are an absolute must,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters on the sidelines of the conference. He accused the White House of being “slow on everything,” adding, “what you saw with the tanks is going to happen with the jets.”
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to Biden urging him to send F-16s right away, POLITICO reported.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who met with Cavoli and Ukrainian leaders in Munich, said he supports identifying Ukrainian pilots and maintenance crews and bringing them to the United States for training.
“It is the right thing to do to come up with a plan to identify personnel to be trained, along with the maintainers and develop a syllabus” on how to operate and repair the complex fourth-generation fighter plane. Kelly was not one of the five people who confirmed that Cavoli discussed sending more advanced weapons.
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