Final Word from Monday, February 6, 2023

President-elect Petr Pavel said in Právo on Sat. that he doesn't think that U.S. Pres. Joe Biden's refusal to send fighter planes to Ukraine means that other countries couldn't decide themselves to send such aircraft. Nato countries give what they can and what they want, he said, and it's not tied to a unanimous decision. With fighter jets, he said, it takes longer, mainly because of the complexity of the systems and the need for logistical and ground support, and also training. He told the BBC that because of this, he's not sure that fighters could be delivered in a time frame that could prove useful to Kyiv. At the same time, he seems to be confident that Ukraine will win the war, otherwise he wouldn't have spoken of Nato membership for it once the conflict has ended. Taken together, his comments as a retired general about fighter planes and Nato membership are very good news for Ukraine, because they suggest that it should be able to win the war even before F-16s or Gripens are deployed. [ Czech Republic United States of America White House F-16 airplanes ]