WASHINGTON, D.C. – A recent report from Reuters confirms that the United States has granted approval for Denmark and the Netherlands to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
On Thursday, August 17th, a U.S. official said that as soon as pilot training is complete, the fighter jets will be sent to Ukraine to defend against Russian invaders.
Since the Russia invasion, Ukraine has sought the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to help fight back against Russia. The U.S. official said that once these pilots are trained, the U.S. will expedite the approval of transfer requests to go to Ukraine.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra wrote, “We welcome Washington’s decision to pave the way for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Now, we will further discuss the subject with our European partners."
In response to the news from Washington, Danish defence minister Jakob Elleman-Jensen said in a statement, “The government has said several times that a donation is a natural next step after training. We are discussing it with close allies, and I expect we will soon be able to be more concrete about that."
Towards the end of August, a coalition of 11 countries will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets and will do so in Denmark.
Back in May, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the Netherlands were considering providing Ukraine with F-16s because it is currently phasing out the fighter jets from its own armed forces.
According to the Dutch defence ministry, the Netherlands currently has 24 operation F-16s, which will be phased out by mid-2024.
The U.S. official who announced that the U.S. has given approval for the fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests for the F-16s would be approved.
In a copy of the letter, which was obtained by Reuters, Blinken wrote, “I am writing to express the United States’ full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors. It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty."
Blinken also stated in the letter that the approval of these requests would allow Ukraine to take “full advantage” of its “new capabilities” as soon as “the first set of pilots complete their training."
Back in May, President Joe Biden endorsed the training programs for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16s. A training center will be set up in Denmark and Romania.
According to a report from Politico, Ukraine has sent the U.S. a list of 32 pilots, all of whom are ready for training. However, only eight of them have the English language skills to complete the training course.
The remaining 24 trainees must go through an English language instruction program run by the United Kingdom before they can start training on the F-16s.
On Wednesday, August 16th, a Ukrainian official said that Kyiv is not expecting to receive the fighter jets this year, which means they will not be available for the current counteroffensive against Russia.
Air force spokesperson Yury Ihnat said, “It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter. We had big hopes for this plane, that will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism."
On Thursday, August 17th, a U.S. official said that as soon as pilot training is complete, the fighter jets will be sent to Ukraine to defend against Russian invaders.
Since the Russia invasion, Ukraine has sought the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to help fight back against Russia. The U.S. official said that once these pilots are trained, the U.S. will expedite the approval of transfer requests to go to Ukraine.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra wrote, “We welcome Washington’s decision to pave the way for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Now, we will further discuss the subject with our European partners."
In response to the news from Washington, Danish defence minister Jakob Elleman-Jensen said in a statement, “The government has said several times that a donation is a natural next step after training. We are discussing it with close allies, and I expect we will soon be able to be more concrete about that."
Towards the end of August, a coalition of 11 countries will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets and will do so in Denmark.
Back in May, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the Netherlands were considering providing Ukraine with F-16s because it is currently phasing out the fighter jets from its own armed forces.
According to the Dutch defence ministry, the Netherlands currently has 24 operation F-16s, which will be phased out by mid-2024.
The U.S. official who announced that the U.S. has given approval for the fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests for the F-16s would be approved.
In a copy of the letter, which was obtained by Reuters, Blinken wrote, “I am writing to express the United States’ full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors. It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty."
Blinken also stated in the letter that the approval of these requests would allow Ukraine to take “full advantage” of its “new capabilities” as soon as “the first set of pilots complete their training."
Back in May, President Joe Biden endorsed the training programs for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16s. A training center will be set up in Denmark and Romania.
According to a report from Politico, Ukraine has sent the U.S. a list of 32 pilots, all of whom are ready for training. However, only eight of them have the English language skills to complete the training course.
The remaining 24 trainees must go through an English language instruction program run by the United Kingdom before they can start training on the F-16s.
On Wednesday, August 16th, a Ukrainian official said that Kyiv is not expecting to receive the fighter jets this year, which means they will not be available for the current counteroffensive against Russia.
Air force spokesperson Yury Ihnat said, “It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter. We had big hopes for this plane, that will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism."
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