WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he will be discussing Ukraine’s latest requests for advanced weaponry to defend against Russia with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We’re going to talk,” Biden told reporters, speaking the morning after he answered with an emphatic “no” when asked at the White House whether he favored sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

The United States is by far the biggest supplier of weapons to Ukraine, where the Russian invasion is now approaching the one-year mark. A coalition of other Western countries is also sending arms, ranging from rifles to armored vehicles and artillery.

However, with Russia showing no sign of letting up in its pulverising of neighbour Ukraine, Zelensky has been issuing calls for ever more powerful and sophisticated weapons. Most recently, the United States and Germany agreed to send advanced tanks, following the earlier lead of Britain.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2023