The Netherlands and Denmark will give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the Dutch prime minister says
Rutte on Sunday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Netherlands and Denmark will give F-16 warplanes to Ukraine. Rutte, meeting with Zelenskyy at a Dutch air base, said the planes would be delivered once unspecified conditions are met. The announcement came minutes after Rutte and Zelenskyy inspected two gray F-16 jets parked in a hangar at the base.
The offer came two days after the Netherlands and Denmark said the U.S. had authorized the countries to deliver American-made F-16s to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday, two days after the country said the United States gave its approval.
Zelenskyy met Mark Rutte at the military air base in the southern city of Eindhoven. The Ukrainian leader was in Sweden a day earlier. The U.S.
approval Friday for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver American-made F-16s to Ukraine was seen as a major boost for Kyiv, even though the fighter jets won't have an impact any time soon on the almost 18-month war. Ukraine has long pleaded for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge. It recently launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive against the Kremlin's forces without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.
The Dutch and Danish governments are also involved in a coalition that is working to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the advanced fighter jets. Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Friday that the training of Ukrainian pilots is starting this month. Officials have previously said that Ukrainian pilots will need six to eight months of training.
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