USA: According to sources cited by Politico on Saturday, US military officials are "quietly pressing" the Department of Defense to approve the shipment of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in order to aid in the conflict with Russia. Kiev has repeatedly requested modern warplanes made in the West, but to date, no nations have complied.

The campaign within the Department of Defense to send the aircraft to Ukraine is "gaining momentum," according to one Pentagon official and two other sources acquainted with the situation who were consulted by the outlet. The recent choice to send Patriot air defence systems and M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev, according to the report, has helped to boost optimism.

A senior DOD official said to the outlet in reference to potential F-16 deliveries: "I don't think we are opposed," but added that a final decision has not been made. The official continued that Kiev has not yet made fighter jets its top priority and that the US is concentrating on assisting Ukraine in meeting its more immediate needs.

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According to a Politico source, the US could take "weeks" to decide whether to send its own aircraft to Ukraine or approve the re-export of F-16s from other nations.

Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, increased his demands for long-range missiles and fighter jets after the US and Germany agreed to give Ukraine 31 Abrams and 14 Leopard 2 tanks, respectively.

When asked about fighter jets on Wednesday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Washington is "in constant discussions" with Kiev about its military capabilities. This is in contrast to Germany's indication that it would not provide Ukraine with aircraft.

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One cannot fault the Ukrainians for wanting an increasing number of systems. The topic of fighter jets has been brought up before. On that front, though, I don't have any announcements to make," he said.

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Russia has repeatedly urged the West to refrain from arming Ukraine, claiming that doing so would only make the conflict worse. According to Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for the Kremlin, the arms deliveries are further evidence that Western nations are directly involved in the standoff between Moscow and Kiev.