How could high-tech US jets boost Ukraine?

President Joe Biden told allied nations last week that the U.S. will help train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircraft, including the high-tech American F-16s. See how the F-16 jets compare to Ukraine's current warplanes.

Hi, it's Julius with an update on Ukraine.

Biden's announcement during a a closed-door meeting at the Group of Seven summit in Japan comes after Ukrainian officials repeatedly requested advanced weaponry, including the sophisticated F-16, since Russia invaded last year.

No details have been given on jet deployments, including when, how many or which countries will provide them. The jets will, however, support an aging fleet of Soviet-era planes, most of them more than 30 years old.

Ukraine has said the F-16s are "four or five times" better than its Soviet-made jets. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured Biden personally that the aircraft won't be used to attack Russian territory, Biden said Sunday.

Ukraine is expected to mount a counteroffensive against Russian troops this spring, but Biden said it is “highly unlikely” the F-16s would be used in those operations. He said they could be used later if the war continues.

U.S. officials said decisions on when, how many and who will supply the F-16s will be made in the months ahead while Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly the jets, according to the Associated Press.

More on the Ukraine-Russia crisis:

• The Kremlin is considering an export ban on gas to prevent domestic fuel shortages and ease domestic gas prices that have been rising since April, Reuters reported.
• Russian TV and tabloids celebrated the Kremlin's claim that the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut had fallen, despite the Ukrainian military's claim that it retains a small part of the city and has retaken villages to the north and south.