Ukraine: US approves sending fighter jets to Ukraine

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, This is an F-16 jet, the sorts of planes that have been approved by the US to send to Ukraine

Ukraine will soon get a big boost to its war efforts after the US announced it would let western countries send fighter jets to help defend the country from Russian attacks.

Legally, countries can only resell or re-export American military hardware if the US approves it.

At the moment, no government has confirmed it will give advanced fighter jets to Kyiv but it's something Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking for.

He's called the move an "historic decision".

Image source, Getty Images

Up until now, the US and other allies had focused on providing weapon systems and helping Ukraine to train its troops.

President Zelensky has been asking allied countries for jets to help their fight against Russia, saying they would "greatly enhance our army in the sky".

Some countries have been worried that a move like this would be seen as escalating the war and making Russia angry.

But the National Security Adviser for the US, Jake Sullivan, said that any jets sent to Ukraine would only used for defence purposes.

Image source, EPA

Image caption, Mr Zelensky is expected to join the G7 leaders in Japan

Training Ukrainian pilots is going to take time though.

Even experienced fighter pilots will take around four months to be trained on how to operate a new plane.

There are also questions around who will supply the F-16 jets which are used in a number of European and Middle Eastern nations - the UK doesn't have any of these types of jets in its air force.

The UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark have welcomed the US move.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

What's the latest on the war in Ukraine?

Video caption, Ukraine: The Children鈥檚 Story

The war in Ukraine began on 23 February 2022 after the President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian army to invade neighbouring country Ukraine.

Since then, millions of people have been affected by the war.

It's difficult to understand the full impact the war has had so far, or predict when it will end.

However, Russia's bigger army was expected to have a much greater impact when it first invaded Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces have managed to push them back in many areas.

You can watch our special programme to find out more about how children in the country have been affected.