The United States will not provide the F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has sought in its fight against Russia, President Joe Biden said, writes The Guardian.

Ukraine planned to push for western fourth-generation fighter jets such as the F-16 after securing supplies of main battle tanks last week, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister said on Friday. A Ukrainian air force spokesperson said it would take its pilots about half a year to train on such fighter jets.

Asked if the United States would provide the jets, Biden told reporters at the White House, “No”.

The brief exchange came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had begun exacting its revenge for Ukraine’s resistance to its invasion with relentless attacks in the east.