Rajan: For the next six months, we are going to see more of the same a war of attrition with each side nibbling at what is now about a 600 mile or 900 mile frontline. The Ukrainians having a big advantage because they have interior means of communication - even if you took the decision today to provide F 16s to train a pilot would take a minimum of 6 months. Rajan: What is the best case scenario for Ukraine, it is to get them for the U.S., it is to give them but not have them used against Russian territory for the Russians and then ensure that the jets are not given.
As the war in Ukraine reaches its one year anniversary, there is still no clear end in sight. And while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy anticipates Russia’s spring offensive, he’s been clear in asking the West for one thing - fighter jets. On this episode of the podcast defence expert Rajan Menon and policy expert Anatol Lieven discuss how crucial jets could be for Ukraine’s defence, what the western countries’ national interest is in giving them, and whether support for Ukraine in this war could wane as time goes on. Our host for this episode is The Sunday Times Special Correspondent, Josh Glancy.
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