According to the Netherlands, the US has agreed to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. Denmark also wants to deliver the fighter jet.
The United States has agreed to the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to the Netherlands. “We welcome the US decision to clear the way for the delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra also thanked his US colleague Antony Blinken on X for the good and speedy cooperation.
The Netherlands and Denmark had previously agreed to deliver F-16s to Ukraine. Both countries also want to train Ukrainian pilots. Once the training is complete, the fighter jets could also be sent, Ollongren said. It will probably take several months before the F-16 can actually be delivered. She did not give an exact time.
Ukraine has long been pushing for deliveries of western fighter jets
Since this is a weapon system from the USA, it needs Washington’s approval. The US government said on Thursday that they wanted to enable Denmark and the Netherlands to quickly transfer the F-16. A US State Department spokesman told the German Press Agency that both countries had received assurances that applications for permits would be expedited so that the fighter jets could be delivered to Kiev once the training of Ukrainian pilots and technicians was completed.
Permission from the USA was also confirmed by the Danish side. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Danish radio station DR that he had received a friendly letter from Blinken, which gave Denmark certain options for action. This removed a hurdle to the F-16 delivery. Together with allies, they are now clarifying what the next step could be.
Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen told the Ritzau news agency that the US permit had shortened the route until the planes could be sent to Ukraine. He expects that one can soon be more specific.
Ukraine has long been pushing for supplies of western fighter jets to break Russian air superiority. Currently, Kiev only has obsolete Soviet machines. The current ground offensive by Ukrainian troops is suffering from the lack of air protection and is progressing less quickly than Kiev had hoped.
Source: Stern
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