President Biden just told
the allies that the U.S.
will support efforts
to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16
fighter jets.
Solecki desperately
wants those planes inside his country.
We have team coverage,
beginning with CNN's
Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon Natasha.
Tell us about this announcement
the US will support training on the F-16.
What exactly does all this mean
Yeah, John,
this is a really significant
announcement here
from the administration,
and it really marks a U-turn
for President Biden,
who just a few short months ago
had said that he did not believe
that Ukraine needed F-16s at this time.
Now, he has told G7 leaders there
in Japan
that the US is prepared
to join a coalition of countries
to train Ukrainians
on fourth
generation fighter aircraft,
which includes F-16s.
That will begin in the coming weeks.
This training will and
is expected to take several months.
But this had really been up in the air
about whether the US
would actually support this.
A lot of European countries
do have a supply of F-16s,
and they have expressed a willingness
and a desire to send them to Ukraine.
And of course Ukraine
has been pleading for the jets
for several months.
But it was not clear
whether the US would approve
the transfer of those jets,
which it has to do
because of sensitive US technology
and that will now.
Not only are
we told
that the US is prepared
to allow the allies
to export those jets,
they are also prepared
to join this coalition of trainers
who will be instructing Ukrainian pilots
on these jets in Europe
in the coming months.
This training, importantly,
is not expected to actually happen
in the United States,
but it will happen in Europe
and it will happen in conjunction
with some of these European allies
who have been pushing
for this kind of training
and provision of jets to Ukraine.
Including the Netherlands and the U.K.
John.
All right.
The US not providing the jets exactly,
but approving the transfer.
And most importantly,
by in on the training,
that is a major development.
Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon,
thank you very much.
Let's go
now to CNN's Mark Stewart,
who is with the president at the
the G-7 summit.
Mark, I have to say this announcement
about training
on the F-16s,
I think eclipse in importance,
the other things
that have been going on there.
But when Zelensky arrives,
he'll be greeted with this information
and some other information he'll like
Well, the information that
he will certainly like
and had been hoping
for was an agreement
by the G7 leaders
to really beef up sanctions
against Russia, an effort to quash
and destroy the funding component,
at least of the Russian war machine.
So today, a big announcement on sanctions
and really
we can divide it up
into two different categories.
First,
things expect to see sanctions
on manufacturing,
things such as transportation
Is any kind
of material effort, material item
that has been crucial
that has allowed Russia
to thrive In addition, the U.K.
just today
announced that it will prohibit
Russian imports of diamonds.
So that is going to be a big attack mode
right there.
And then expect to see
sanctions on individuals, either
people who hold leadership positions
in Russia
or perhaps who have wealth,
who have been able to contribute
to the funding of the Russia,
the Russian efforts in Ukraine.
One final note, John.
When President ZELENSKYY comes here,
not only will
he meet with members of the G7,
but also other invited nations
India, Indonesia, Brazil,
those are nations that also could impact
the Russian war
effort, particularly
on an economic front.
So expect to see some of that
to come up in conversation as well.
So F-16s, F-16 training, sanctions
and big meetings
with other important world leaders.
This is indeed a big weekend
for President Zelensky.
Mark, terrific to see you in Japan.
Appreciate it.
So as the president
and these G7 leaders
work on these sanctions on Russia,
Vladimir Solecki,
he is traveling thousands of miles
for this personal pitch for support.
His first stop in Saudi Arabia
this morning
A remarkable journey from Kiev.
We had a map
that shows just how far he's going.
He meets with the crown prince
in Saudi Arabia before going to the G7.
CNN's
Nic Robertson
is following all this for us.
And Nic, as we said,
this is turning into a very
fruitful journey for Zelensky
It is
the meeting with the crown
prince Mohammed bin Salman Big.
It was Salman's invitation.
Salman himself
wants to have a bigger role
in regional politics and in particular,
diplomacy and helping
bring peace to Ukraine.
He said as foreign minister
to Ukraine a few months ago,
several hundred
billions and humanitarian aid committed.
Also,
there is heavy investment
between from Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.
There certainly was before the war.
And Saudi sees itself
as part of a solution
maker, has been involved
in getting prisoners
released, particularly foreign prisoners.
So this is something that's big
for members and for Zelensky.
It really allows him
to get under the skin in the Arab world
and the Gulf states
with Putin's narrative,
which is quite often
accepted there at face value,
that Ukraine isn't really a country, it's
really part of Russia,
that Russia is actually
being attacked by nature,
that this is Western hedge money.
Putin's message sells pretty well
on the Arab street and places
people believe it was.
Zelensky's
ability now to speak to the Arab leaders
and in particular,
Mohammed bin Salman has huge value
in disrupting
Putin's sell
more friends, potentially
more help and support going forward.
But I think what we're hearing
from President Biden, from G7
allies and partners
that support Ukraine, particularly
about the F-16,
this narrative has been going on
for a little while.
It's been gaining momentum.
The British
a few months ago
said they would train F-16 pilots
a couple of days ago,
the Dutch and British prime
minister said they would
launch an initiative
to help Ukraine source
these F-16s and get pilots trained.
But I think this reflects
perhaps President
Biden's shift reflects
a real ground reality here, John.
And the ground reality
is something we've been seeing.
Every frontline commander
we speak to here
talks about a lack of ammunition.
And when you come into this,
you think, hey,
maybe this is just part of shaping
the information message.
We need more help.
But after a period of time
here, you begin to think
maybe this is genuine.
And I think there's a recognition
that when the tanks
were authorized for Ukraine,
by the time they get to the tanks,
this much talked about a big offensive
here.
Hasn't started
when when the West says
we'll give you tanks
and when Ukraine can put them into action
takes a lot of time.
And Russia gains advantage in that time.
So the recognition that F-16s
are actually needed,
Ukraine has said it needs them.
But the reality is
they do need them to win this fight.
Now, this summer,
again, against the Russian military,
I think that message is beginning
to sink in.
Ukraine needs to win this summer
and it needs all this equipment now.
That is something that is my takeaway
at this period of time.
We've had exclusive
front lines here in Ukraine.
Promise promises one thing. Action.
A completely different matter.
Nic Robertson, great to have you there.
You and your team, please stay safe.
Cedric Leighton is a CNN
military analyst and retired U.S.
Air Force colonel.
And good to see you.
F-16s
high on the shopping list
for President Zelinsky.
Why is it significant
that Ukraine received these jets
if they can, and what sets them apart?
Right.
Why would they be
a game changer possibly in this conflict?
Yeah,
Paula, the interesting thing
is a really interesting aircraft.
It's been around for about 49 years.
40 plus that it was really operational.
And it is a multirole fighter.
So it can do both air to air
and air to ground combat operations.
So what that means
is it's really versatile
and can be used in many different ways.
And it
also is an aircraft, depending
on how it's configured,
you can potentially use its
electronic jamming capability
to go
after some of the Russian radars
that are
active in Ukraine
and around the Ukrainian periphery.
So it's a very important aircraft.
It's probably the best aircraft
in terms
of all the different capabilities
that the Ukrainians would want.
And it's probably the only aircraft
that as all of those capabilities
in one package.
Now, when President Zelensky
has asked for them,
the United States has said
no, definitely not, at least not yet.
EU allies,
some of them seem
to have a different policy
especially in the last few months.
Now, I want to point out
that CNN reporting
is that the Biden administration
has now signaled to these allies
that, look,
if you guys want to go ahead
and give them these jets, export
these F-16s,
we may not stand in your way.
Is this a huge policy
change for the United States?
Yeah, it's a policy change.
By, you know, little step,
little incremental steps.
And what it really means
is that
the Biden administration
is giving its tacit approval
to its allies to provide these jets
to the Ukrainians without any objection.
So, A,
what can happen here
is that the pipeline is going to start
and that pipeline
includes everything
from the aircraft itself to spare parts.
And most important, importantly,
training for both the pilots
and the maintenance crews
that are going to have to
maintain these aircraft