The administration of President Joe Biden has rejected the US military’s proposal to send civilian contractors to Ukraine to maintain F-16 fighter jets and other military equipment, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
The White House National Security Council has considered sending civilian contractors to Ukraine to help maintain F-16 fighter jets and other equipment, but intelligence and other agencies consider the move too risky, WSJ reported on August 30, citing a source familiar with the matter.
“The intelligence community has raised concerns about the potential for Russia to target US contractors in Ukraine,” said an unnamed US official.
The Biden administration has not ruled out sending US contractors to Ukraine, but not in the near future. However, the US hopes that European countries will “take on more responsibility for maintaining the F-16s” in Ukraine.
The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Belgium said they would fund a private contract between a civilian maintenance company and the Ukrainian Air Force.
“We provide financial support to the Ukrainian government to execute those contracts with private partners to see if they can sustain the aircraft in the future,” said General Onno Eichelsheim, Dutch Defense Minister. Moscow has repeatedly warned that any foreign military personnel in Ukraine could become a legitimate target of Russian attack.
The US and Ukrainian governments have not commented on the above information. The news comes shortly after a Ukrainian F-16 crashed on August 26 during an unprecedented airstrike by Russia. It was one of the first F-16s Ukraine received from the West in late July and early August.
Ukraine has launched an investigation into the cause of the plane crash amid speculation that the plane was shot down by Ukraine’s Patriot air defense system.
