Biden invites allies to Washington as fighting intensifies in Ukraine

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President Biden hosted Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark at the White House on Monday to discuss security initiatives, including providing military support to Ukraine, amid reports that Kiev may be stepping up its long-planned counter-offensive against Russian forces.

One of the main topics of discussion between Mr. Biden and Ms. Frederiksen, according to the White House, was Ukraine’s demand for American-made F-16 fighter jets. In late May, and after months of resisting mounting pressure to deliver the planes for fear they could be used to hit Russian territory, Mr Biden agreed that pilots be trained to fly the aircraft and that allied countries they supplied.

Denmark is one of several countries whose leaders have indicated they would be willing to either hand over F-16s from their own stocks or provide pilot training. Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway have also indicated that they are willing to help.

On Thursday, Biden will host Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain, another key NATO ally who has spoken out about the need to arm Kiev. In February, Mr Sunak said there was “nothing off the table” when it came to considering military aid to Ukraine.

Why it matters: Fighting has intensified as Ukraine moves to Russia’s front lines.

For the past 16 months, Mr. Biden has helped keep the United States’ key Western allies in agreement on the need to provide aid to Kiev, despite dwindling domestic support for the war and amid conflicting opinions among other leaders about how best to arm Ukraine. .

With Ukrainian soldiers stepping up their artillery and ground assaults on the Russian front lines, the West is once again at a critical point where the Allies must move forward in a floodgate.

John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, told reporters on Monday he could not say whether the Ukrainian counteroffensive had officially begun, but he added that the Biden administration has done everything it can to support Kiev ready to steam.

“The president is very confident that over the past six, eight months or more, we’ve done everything we could to make sure they had all the equipment, training or capabilities,” Kirby said.

On Monday, the timeline for the delivery of F-16s was still unclear. Mr Biden called it “highly unlikely” that the F-16s would be part of the counter-offensive Ukraine has been planning in recent months.