Editorial: Arming Ukraine won’t escalate war. Reluctance to do so will

First it was the tanks, now it’s the fighter jets.

As Ukraine braces for another possible major Russian offensive in the upcoming weeks, Western leaders are yet again coming up with a variety of excuses why this time, they cannot justify supplying F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to Ukraine.

The argument goes that the delivery of F-16s will risk escalation or retaliation from Vladimir Putin.

But if the supply of Western tanks, HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, armored fighting vehicles, air defense systems, and artillery did not lead to an escalation or Putin waging a nuclear war, why would F-16s have that effect?

On Jan. 29, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin would not send fighter jets to Kyiv. "I can only advise against entering into a constant bidding war when it comes to weapons systems," Scholz said.

When asked whether Washington would supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden said “no” on Jan. 30.

On Jan. 31, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said that sending fighter jets to Ukraine would be impractical. He added that the U.K.’s F35 fighter jets are “extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly.”

On the same day, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz said that Poland was not discussing giving its F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

The U.S. has also so far refused to supply its long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine due to the fear that they would be used to attack Russian territory and lead to an “escalation.”

These statements reek of a recent debate over whether or not to supply battle tanks to Ukraine.

There is the argument that it will take too much time to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s and organize their supplies and maintenance. Some say there won’t be enough time before the next Russian offensive.

These arguments are absurd. The longer the West postpones the decision, the more time it will take to train pilots and deliver the aircraft.

Does the West expect the war to end before the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed? Obviously, that’s not going to happen, and the longer the West delays the supplies of F-16s and high-precision, long-range ATACMS missiles, the longer the war will continue.

Is Ukraine expected to win by magic? Any major victory without modern aircraft and long-range missiles is virtually impossible.

The whole Western approach to this war should be changed. It has become absolutely clear that it's impossible to end it by appeasing Russia or trying to avoid an escalation. Moreover, it is the appeasement of Putin that causes escalation.

Russia has demonstrated clearly that it will never accept any peace terms but Ukraine's total surrender. The only way to end this war is to supply all the weapons that Ukraine needs as soon as possible.

The longer the West drags its feet on supplying Ukraine  with F-16s and ATACMS, the more time it will take for Ukraine to launch new counteroffensives, liberate all its territories from Russian occupation, and win this war.

The longer it takes for the West to realize this, the more Ukrainians will be killed, the more Ukrainian cities will be razed to the ground, and the more economic, political and military consequences the West will have to deal with in the long run.