The United States approved requests from Denmark and the Netherlands to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Reuters writes about this with reference to an American official and a letter from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Washington sent a letter to the governments of these two countries, in which he assured that the United States would approve the transfer of fighters after the Ukrainian pilots completed their training, the agency said.
“With this letter, I express the full support of the United States for both the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified instructors,” US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said in a letter to the foreign ministers of Denmark and the Netherlands.
According to him, the approval of applications will allow Ukraine “to fully use its new capabilities, as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training.” “It remains critical that Ukraine be able to defend itself against continued Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty,” he said.
According to the agency, this month in Denmark, a coalition of 11 countries was supposed to begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. In addition to Denmark, a training center should be established in Romania. In July, Denmark’s acting defense minister, Troels Poulsen, said the country hoped to see the “results” of the training in early 2024.
What will NATO-standard fighters give to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and how do they fundamentally differ from those aircraft that are already used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said earlier that Ukraine would probably not receive American F-16 fighter jets from allies until spring 2024. “It is already clear that we will not be able to protect Ukraine with F-16 aircraft during this autumn and winter,” he said on the air of the telethon.
According to him, there were high hopes for these fighters, as they could become part of the country’s air defense and help defend against Russian missiles. At the same time, Ignat recalled that the issue of training Ukrainian personnel for the F-16 has practically moved forward.
