F-16 for Ukraine: An open letter to Joseph Biden, President of the United States of America

Auf Deutsch en Français en Español in Italiano po Polsku Yкраїнською мовою

The Lithuania Tribune, May 8, 2023 Geopolitica, May 16, 2023

Mr. President,

First and foremost, we would like to thank you, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and the broad bipartisan coalition in Congress for your unwavering support for Ukraine and for the leadership that the United States has once again taken in defense of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter. Like you, we believe that, as General Christopher Cavoli put it so well, “Russia cannot come out of this war with victory, our future simply cannot stand it.”

We have often wished that the assistance provided to Ukraine had been faster and more extensive. However, we are well aware that you are in possession of information that we do not have, and that you have had to work hard to build the Ramstein coalition and to make it more cohesive.

We are writing to you today because we are concerned. The task that awaits the Ukrainian armed forces in the coming months is enormous. There is a risk of setbacks and partial successes. And, as General Mark Milley has repeatedly reminded us, it is always a bad idea to underestimate the military capabilities of the Russian Federation. In other words, there is no guarantee that the war will not continue beyond 2023.

As you know, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and many Ukrainian military and political leaders believe that the supply of Western aircraft is crucial for a quick end to the war. Moreover, as Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, and James Cleverly, the British Foreign Secretary, have stated, the only real guarantee of Ukraine’s security in the medium and long term is its membership of the Atlantic Organization, even if this is only possible at the end of the war. We have no doubt that a broad consensus is forming on this point. We believe that the states that blocked this process in 2008 at the NATO Summit in Bucharest, and thus bear a grave responsibility for the war in progress, will be careful not to hinder it again.

We are aware that mastering the use of modern Western aircraft requires extensive pilot training and complex logistics. But we also know that the Ukrainian soldiers, who are highly motivated, have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to learn.

As leader of the Ramstein coalition, and as president of the country that produces the aircraft that the Ukrainian military authorities want most – the F-16 – your approval is essential.

In six months’ time the Ramstein coalition must be in a position to adjudicate – in the light of the prevailing military and political situation – on the supply of these F-16s by your country and by those European countries that have them. It therefore seems essential to us that a decision be taken without delay to train around one hundred Ukrainian pilots; to assemble the logistical chain involved in the supply of a hundred or so aircraft; to establish the number of aircraft that each NATO member country could effectively supply in the fall of 2023; and to prepare those aircraft.

We thank you for doing everything in your power to achieve these objectives in the near future and assure you, Mr. President, of our highest consideration,

Signatories

Annely Akkermann, member of Parliament, former Minister of Finance, Estonia

Andrus Ansip, member of the European Parliament, former Prime Minister of Estonia

Gert-Johannes Hagemann, Major General (ret.), German Army, Berlin, Germany

Willy Herteleer, Admiral (ret.), ex Belgian Chief of Defence

Anton Hofreiter, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs of the Bundestag, Germany

Rasa Jukneviciené, Vice-President of the European Parliament, former Defence Minister, Lithuania

Roderich Kiesewetter, member of the Bundestag, representative of Foreign Affairs for the CDU/CSU-caucus, Germany

Andrius Kubilius, member of the European Parliament, former Prime Minister of Lithuania

Vytautas Landsbergis, former President of the Republic of Lithuania

Pandeli Majko, former Prime Minister of Albania

Marcos Perestrello, member of Parliament, Chair of the Defense Committee, Portugal

Karel Schwarzenberg, former Foreign Affairs Minister and vice Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

Kalev Stoicescu, member of Parliament, chairman of the National Defence Committee, Estonia

Jarosław Stróżyk, Brigadier General (ret.), Assistant Professor at the University of Wrocław, Poland

Pekka Toveri, Major General (ret.), member of Parliament, Finland

&

Michael Aastrup Jensen, member of Parliament, Denmark

Cengiz Aktar, professor of Political Science at the University of Athens

Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet professor of EU Law, HEC Paris, Founder of The Good Lobby

Katarina Ammitzbøll, former member of Parliament, Denmark

Martin Andler, mathematician, professor emeritus at the University of Versailles-St-Quentin, France

Antoine Arjakovsky, director of Research, Collège des Bernardins, France

Olga Artyushkina, senior Lecturer HDR in Russian Grammar and Linguistics, Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University

Anders Åslund, economist and former Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, Sweden

João Azevedo Castro, member of Parliament, Portugal

Christine Baron, professor of Comparative Literature, University of Poitiers, France

Kris Beckers, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Belgium

Martine Benoit, professor of History of Ideas-German studies, University of Lille, France

Gérard Bensussan, philosopher, professor Emeritus at the University of Strasbourg, France

Florian Bieber, professor of Southeast European History and Politics, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz, Austria

Michał Bilewicz, associate professor of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Poland

Magdalena Błeńska, member of Parliament, Poland

Pierre Bouchat, assistant professor of social psychology at the University of Lorraine, France

Alain Bourges, videographer, writer, retired senior art teacher, Ecole Européenne Supérieure d’Art de Bretagne, Rennes, France

John Bowis, former member of the European Parliament, former member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Yordan Bozhilov, director of the Sofia Security Forum, former Deputy Defense Minister of Bulgaria

Justina Budginaité-Froehly, political scientist, Germany

Michel Caillouët, former Ambassador of the European Union, France

Enver Can, founding President of the Ilham Tohti Initiative, Germany

Marco Cappato, former member of the European Parliament, Italy

Paulo Casaca, former member of the Portuguese Parliament, former member of the European Parliament

Leo M. Chalupa, professor, School of Medicine, George Washington University; Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science”, USA

Peter Cmorej, member of Parliament, Slovakia

Yves Cohen, historian, director of studies at EHESS, France

Dominique Colas, professor emeritus of Political Science, Sciences Po, Paris, France

Dorota Dakowska, professor of political science at Sciences Po Aix, France

Christophe D’Aloisio, researcher affiliated to the Research Institute Religions, Spiritualities, Cultures, Societies (RSCS, UCLouvain), director of the Institute of Orthodox Theology in Brussels, Belgium

Pierre d’Argent, professor of International Law, University of Louvain, member of the Institute of International Law, Belgium

Louis Daubresse, associate researcher at the Institut de Recherche sur le Cinéma et l’Audiovisuel and the Fondation Balzan, PhD in film and audiovisual studies, France

Julia David, associate member of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary History (CNRS/ENS), France

Mark Demesmaeker, senator, chair of the Committee of Transversal Affairs, Belgium

Sébastien Denis, professor, History & Film Studies, University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, France

Massimiliano Di Pasquale, associate researcher at the Gino Germani Foundation, Italy

Boris Dittrich, Senator, Netherlands

Jean-Marc Dreyfus, historian, lecturer at the University of Manchester, UK

André Dumoulin, honorary lecturer, University of Liege, Belgium

Olivier Dupuis, former member of the European Parliament, Belgium

Emmanuel Dupuy, president of the Institute for Prospective and Security in Europe (IPSE), France

Normunds Dzintars, member of Parliament, Latvia

Marc Elie, research fellow at the CNRS, Deputy Director of the Center for Russian, Caucasian and Central European Studies – Cercec, France

Nino Evgenidze, executive director Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), Georgia

Marta Farion, president, Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America

Penelope Faulkner, vice-President of Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam, France

Andrej Findor, associate professor at the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia

Claude Forest, lecturer and researcher in economics and sociology of cinema at the Sorbonne Paris 3 University, France

Céline Gailleurd, lecturer, filmmaker, University of Paris 8

Natalia Gamalova, professor of Russian Language and Literature, Department of Slavic Studies, University of Lyon 3, France

Vitaliano Gemelli, former member of the European Parliament, Italy

Julie Gerber, doctor of Comparative Literature, lecturer at the Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, France

Mridula Ghosh, senior Lecturer of International Relations, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy; Board Chair, East European Development Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine

Thorniké Gordadzé, former Minister of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Georgia, lecturer at Paris Institute of Political Studies, Sciences Po, France

Svetlana Gorshenina, historian, art historian, historiographer and specialist on Central Asia, director of research at CNRS Eur’Orbem, Université Paris-Sorbonne, France

Nicolas Gosset, defence analyst, research fellow Russia/Eurasia at the Royal Higher Institute for Defence, Brussels, Belgium

Iegor Gran, writer, France

Markéta Gregorova, member of the European Parliament, Czech Republic

Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Germany

Tomasz Grzegorz Grosse, professor, University of Warsaw, head of Department of European Union Policies at the Institute of European Studies, Editor-in-Chief of the International Analyses quarterly, Poland

Jarosław Gryz, professor at War Studies University, Poland

Jeanyves Guérin, professor of French literature at the Sorbonne nouvelle University, France

Fernando Adolfo Gutiérrez Díaz de Otazu, member of Parliament, Spain

Christophe Hansen, member of the European Parliament, Luxemburg

Atte Harjanne, member of Parliament, Finland

Rebecca Harms, former member of the European Parliament and Co-chair of the Green Parlamentary Group, Germany

Patrick Hassenteufel, professor of Political Science, Université Paris-Saclay (UVSQ), Sciences Po Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France

Pavel Havlicek, research fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO), Czech Republic

Oleksandr Havrylenko, professor at the V. N. Karazin National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Thomas Heilmann, member of the Bundestag, Germany

Joseph Henrotin, research fellow at the Institut de Stratégie Comparée, Belgium/France

Richard Herzinger, columnist, Berlin, Germany

Maryana Hnyp, professor of Social Ethics, Ateneo de Manila University; president of the European Network on Religion and Belief, Belgium

Marie Holzman, sinologist, president of Solidarité Chine

Ulrich Huygevelde, coordinator of the Center Géopolis, Belgium

Mārcis Jencītis, member of Parliament, Latvia

Mario Kadastik, member of Parliament, Estonia

Christian Kaunert, professor of International Security Policy, Dublin City University and University of South Wales

André Klarsfeld, deputy chair of the NPO “Pour l’Ukraine, pour leur liberté et la nôtre !”, retired university professor, France

Jurģis Klotiņš, member of Parliament, Latvia

Miro Kollár, member of Parliament, Slovakia

Gašper Koprivsek, founder and director of Elysium Public Affairs, Slovenia

Andrey Kovatchev, member of the European Parliament, Bulgaria

Philip Krämer, member of the Bundestag, Germany

Péter Krekó, senior lecturer and director of the Political Capital Institute, Political Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary

Eerik-Niiles Kross, member of Parliament, former Director of Intelligence, Estonia

Yauheni Kryzhanouski, researcher, University of Strasbourg, associate professor at European Humanities University, Vilnius

Robert Kwiatkowski, member of Parliament, Poland

Per Larsen, member of Parliament, Denmark

Gérard Lauton, emeritus assistant professor, member of the NPO « Pour l’Ukraine, pour leur liberté et la nôtre ! », France

Diogo Leão, member of Parliament, Portugal

Aurélie Ledoux, lecturer, film studies, University of Paris Nanterre, France

Mathieu Lericq, Lecturer, Film studies, University Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis, France

Ophir Levy, associate professor, Film Studies, Université Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis, France

Šarūnas Liekis, professor of Politics and dean of the Faculty of Politics and Diplomacy at Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania

Jarno Limnell, member of Parliament, Finland

Sylvie Lindeperg, professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and emeritus member of the Institut Universitaire de France

Jonathan Littell, writer, Goncourt Prize, France

Ramon Loik, security politics analyst, Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, former adviser to the Estonian Minister of Defense

Raimundas Lopata, member of Parliament, director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, Lithuania

Mihhail Lotman, former member of Parliament, professor emeritus at the Tallinn University, professor at the University of Tartu, Estonia

Lubomyr Luciuk, professor of Political Science and Economics, Royal Military College of Canada

Jaak Madison, member of the European Parliament, Estonia

Paul Robert Magocsi, permanent fellow, Royal Society of Canada—Academy of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Damien Marguet, associate professor, co-Head of Film Studies Department, Université Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis, France

Jean Mariani, professor emeritus, Neurosciences and Gerosciences, Faculty of Medicine Sorbonne University, France

Alain Maskens, physician, oncologist, founder and former medical coordinator of the European Organization for Cooperation in Cancer Prevention Studies (ECP), Belgium

Marie-Claude Maurel, director of Studies at EHESS – École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Centre d’études russe, caucasien et centre-européen, France

Frédéric Mauro, lawyer at the Brussels bar, associate researcher at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), Paris, France

Rachel Mazuy, Associate researcher at the Institut d’Histoire du Temps Présent, lecturer at Sciences Po Paris, France

Alvydas Medalinskas, political analyst, Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lithuanian Parliament

Alexandre Melnik, professor at ICN Business School, expert and consultant in geopolitics, France

Nona Mikhelidze, senior fellow at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Rome, Italy

Emmanuel Morucci, doctor in Sociology, president of CECI (Cercle Europe Citoyennetés et identités), France

Alexander Motyl, professor of political science, Rutgers University-Newark, United States

Boris Najman, associate professor and researcher in Economics at University Paris East Créteil

Laure Neumayer, political scientist, lecturer at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and senior researcher at the European Centre for Sociology and Political Science in Paris, France

Olevs Nikers, president of the Baltic Security Foundation, Latvia

Alexis Nuselovici, professor of General and Comparative Literature at the University of Aix-Marseille, France

Lydia Obolensky, professor of Russian Language and Literature, Belgium

Ong Thong Hoeung, writer, survivor of the Khmer Rouge re-education camps, Belgium

Peter Osuský, vice-chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovakian Parliament

Doris Pack, president of EPP Women, president of the Robert Schuman Institute, former member of the European Parliament and the Bundestag, Germany

Carmelo Palma, journalist, Director of Strade-on-line, Italy

Franck Petiteville, professor of Political Science, Grenoble Institute of Political Studies, France

Jan Pieklo, Polish ambassador to Ukraine (2016-2019)

Nicoletta Pirozzi, head of EU Programme and Institutional Relations Manager at Istituto Affari Internazionali, Italy

Andrzej Podraza, professor, head of the Chair of International Relations and Security, Catholic University of Lublin, Poland; visiting fellow, University of Notre Dame, USA

Henn Põlluaas, member of Parliament, Estonia

Bohdan Prots, associate professor, Danube-Carpathian Programme and State Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine

Jean-Paul Pylypczuk, director of the publication « La parole ukrainienne », France

Eva Quistorp, theologian, writer, former member of the European Parliament, Berlin, Germany

Pierre Raiman, secretary of the NPO “Pour l’Ukraine, pour leur liberté et la nôtre !”, France

Christian Rocca, Linkiesta Editorial Director, Italy

Sylvie Rollet, emeritus professor, chairwoman of the NPO « Pour l’Ukraine, pour leur liberté et la nôtre ! »

Bronis Ropé, member of the European Parliament, Lithuania

Marie-Claude San Juan, writer and blogger, France

Andrei Sannikov, chairman of the European Belarus Foundation. Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus (1995-1996), presidential candidate 2010, former Prisoner of Consciousness

Anton Shekhovtsov, director of the Centre for Democratic Integrity, Austria

Vasile Simileanu, Director, Senior Editor, GeoPolitica Magazine, Romania

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, member of Parliament, Netherlands

Ivan Štefanec, member of the European Parliament, Slovakia

Wally Struys, professor emeritus, defence economist, Royal Military Academy, Belgium

Raúl Suevos, colonel (ret), former director of communication at the Eurocorps and former commander of the multinational HQ Battalion of Eurocorps, Spain

Marcin Święcicki, former Minister of Foreign Economic Co-operation, former mayor of Warsaw, Poland

Igor Taro, member of Parliament, Estonia

Ewa M. Thompson, professor of Slavic Studies Emerita, Rice University, USA

Nathalie Tocci, honorary professor at the University of Tübingen, director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Italy

Patrizia Tosini, associate professor of History of Modern Art, Roma Tre University, Italy

Florian Trauner, Jean Monnet chair at the Institute for European Studies of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), visiting professor at the College of Europe, Belgium

Andreas Umland, analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies

Jacques Vallin, director of research Emeritus, INED, Condorcet Campus, France

Karl Vanlouwe, member of the Flemish Parliament, Senator, Belgium

Maïrbek Vatchagaev, Chechen historian and political analyst of the North Caucasus at the Jamestown Foundation, co-editor of the journal “Caucasus Survey”

Sarah Whitmore, reader in Politics, Faculty Research Ethics Officer, School of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom

Kataryna Wolczuk, professor of Political science, Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies (CREES), School of Government, University of Birmingham, UK

Miroslav Žiak, former member of Parliament, Slovakia