WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden informed G7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports a joint effort with allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, a senior administration official said, a key endorsement as Kyiv seeks to boost its air power against Russia’s invading forces.

Training on the US-made jets will take place in Europe and will require months to complete, the official said. US officials have estimated the most expeditious time needed for training and delivery of F-16s at 18 months.

“As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them,” the official said.

The official did not say which countries would be participating in the effort. The US hopes to begin the training, which will be conducted on fourth-generation fighters including F-16s, in the coming weeks, the official added.

US imposes fresh sanctions on Russia; Moscow bans entry to 500 US nationals, including Obama

Ukraine is seeking the jets, made by Lockheed Martin , as it presses on with its biggest advance for months against invading Russian troops before a planned counteroffensive.

Sanctions on hundreds of targets

On Friday, US announced sanctions on more than 300 targets. The move, which targets Russia’s sanctions evasion, future energy revenues and military-industrial supply chains, marks the latest sanctions and export controls targeting Moscow, which have already hit thousands of targets and imposed steep curbs on Russia.

“Today’s actions will further tighten the vise on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions,” US Treasury Depart­ment Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

In response to sanctions imposed by Washington, Russia said it banned entry to 500 Americans, including former president Barack Obama.

“In response to the anti-Russian sanctions regularly imposed by the Biden administration... entry into the Russian Federation is closed for 500 Americans,” the foreign ministry said, adding that Obama was among those on the list.

The US and Europe imposed financial penalties on Russia immediately following the start of the war last year and have steadily ratcheted up the pressure since then, targeting Putin and officials close to him, the financial sector and oligarchs.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2023