On Friday, the United States, as the manufacturing country, approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Denmark and the Netherlands have now officially agreed to the machines. It is not yet clear how many will be delivered.
Denmark and the Netherlands will supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. This was announced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Netherlands. The Danish Ministry of Defense confirmed the commitment shortly thereafter.
The machines will be delivered “as soon as the conditions for such a transfer are met,” said Rutte at an air force base in Eindhoven. According to the Danish ministry, the conditions included the training of Ukrainian armed forces “as well as the necessary permits, infrastructure and logistics”.
Number of jets still unclear
The countries have not yet decided how many F-16 jets are to be delivered. According to a spokesman for the Dutch Defense Ministry, the Royal Netherlands Air Force has 42 F-16s, 24 of which are operational.
Selenskyj thanked him for the promise. The decision was “absolutely historic, powerful and inspiring for us,” he said. This is another step towards strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses. On the online platform X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: “42 jets. And that’s just the beginning.”
The government in Kiev has been trying for months to get Western-style fighter jets to fight against Russian invading troops. Zelenskyj arrived in the Netherlands today after a visit to Sweden. There he had advertised the delivery of the Saab JAS 39 “Gripen” model built there.
USA recently facilitated delivery of the jets
The United States, as the manufacturing country, agreed on Friday that the Netherlands and Denmark would deliver F-16s to Ukraine. Both countries are also playing a leading role in the training of Ukrainian pilots, which, according to Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, is due to begin in August. According to government officials, the training should take six to eight months.
Belgium and Norway are also considered possible suppliers of the US jets. Denmark will work to persuade other countries to join the coalition, the Defense Ministry said in a statement in Copenhagen.