Zelensky arrives in Hiroshima for G7 meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Hiroshima on Saturday afternoon, marking his longest trip since Russia invaded his country.

He arrived in Japan shortly after President Joe Biden reversed course and gave European allies the green light to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in its battle against Russia. 

Zelensky will meet with Biden on Sunday as part of his campaign to shore up support among the Western allies ahead of a planned Spring offensive to try and drive Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces from his country.

He arrived on a French plane at the heavily guarded Hiroshima airport. 

Before he arrived at the G7, Zelensky stopped in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to address the Arab League Summit. In his remarks, he accused some Arab leaders of ignoring the horrors of Russia’s invasion of his country.

‘Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here, among you, who turn a blind eye to those cages and illegal annexations,’ he said, urging them to ‘take an honest look’ at the war.

Ahead of Zelensky’s arrival, Biden, facing pressure from Europe to help Ukraine end the conflict, agreed to allow European countries with F-16s to transfer some of the war planes to the embattled nation.

‘President Biden informed his G7 counterparts the United States will support the joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation fighter aircraft including F-16s,’ National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday.

‘Over the past few months we and our allies and partners have really focused on providing Ukraine with the system’s weapons and training needs to be able to conduct effective offensive operations this spring,’ he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, during a face-to-face meeting with Kuwait Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, left, on the sidelines of the Arab League Summit

President Biden (left with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak) gave into European pressure and gave allies the green light to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in its battle against Russia

Ukraine is planning a massive counter offensive to retake its territoryterrority and attempt to drive out Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces. But the delivery of F-16s – and the training to operate them – will take months.

Biden will meet with Zelensky on Sunday. Zelensky’s surprise appearance comes after a stop in Jeddah to address the Arab League. He’s traveling on a French military plane.

‘I welcome the historic decision of the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky,’ Zelensky wrote on Twitter. 

Zelensky was in Europe this week to meet with leaders from France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany to shore up alliances and ask for more aid.

Early in the conflict Biden had resisted sending the advanced military fighter plans to Ukraine out of fears they would use it to strike into the heart of Russia, provoking the Kremlin to expand the conflict outside of Ukraine’s borders.

But several European countries have F-16s in their arsenals in wanted to send them to Kyiv but need American permission to give them to a third-party because of the advanced U.S. technology on the planes. 

Sullivan argued ‘nothing has changed. Our approach to the provision of weapons, material, training to the Ukrainians has followed the exigencies of the conflict.’

‘Now that we have delivered everything we said we were going to deliver,’ he added, ‘we put the Ukrainians in a position to make progress on the battlefield through the counter offensive.’

President Biden will meet with President Zelensky on Sunday at the G7

F-16 fighter jets have long topped Ukraine’s wishlist

The F-16 training will be done by U.S. personnel in the coming weeks. The timeline for that training remains unclear bu American officials previously estimated it could take up to 18 months.

‘As the training unfolds in the coming months, we will work with our allies to determine when planes will be delivered, who will be delivering them and how many,’ Sullivan said.

The U.S. Air Force has two F-16 air wings in Europe: the 31st Fighter Wing at the Aviano Air Base in Italy and the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. The U.S. also routinely sends F-16 fighters in and out of Europe on a rotational basis in smaller groups. 

So far, Ukraine has been relying on much older MiG fighters, 27 of which have been given to them by Poland and Slovakia. Only a few European countries have a supply of F-16s, including the Netherlands which has 40 and Denmark which has 30, in addition to Poland and Norway.

F-16s have been at the top of Ukraine’s weapons wishlist since it was handed main battle tanks from the likes of the US, United Kingdom and Germany. 

Western allies have taken even harsher measures against Russia in at attempt to pressure Putin to end the war. G7 leaders announced another round of sanctions on Friday, targeting Russia’s energy sector and military complex. 

Moscow, in response, has upped its bombing campaign in Ukraine.