Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Sunday made statements about supplying advanced fighter jets to Ukraine, confirming earlier reports.
Rutte said that the Netherlands and Denmark will deliver a number of US F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine once the necessary conditions are met.
“The Netherlands and Denmark are committed to delivering F-16 fighters to Ukraine after fulfilling the conditions for this delivery,” Rutte told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in the Netherlands for a visit today, Sunday.
The announcement marks the first actual commitment to deliver the F-16s to Ukraine’s armed forces, and comes just days after the United States gave the Netherlands and Denmark the green light to deliver the fighter jets to Ukraine.
Media confirmed that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters has already begun.
Yesterday, Saturday, the TV channel “24 Kanal” quoted Oleksey Reznikov, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, as saying that “the training has already started.” The report stated that engineers and technicians are also receiving training. Reznikov did not indicate the location of the training.
Zelensky had asked Sweden, on Saturday, to provide Kiev with “Gripen” fighter planes, to strengthen its air defenses, after meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christjon during a visit to Stockholm.
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