The United States approved requests from Denmark and the Netherlands to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. About it informs Reuters, citing an American official and a letter from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The dispatch of fighters may occur after the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed, the agency clarifies.
“With this letter, I express the full support of the United States for both the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified instructors. It remains important that Ukraine be able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty,” Blinken said in the letter.
According to the secretary of state, the approval of requests from Denmark and the Netherlands to send fighter jets will allow Ukraine “to take full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first batch of pilots complete their training.”
The official representative of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuriy Ignat, said on August 16 that Ukraine would not be able to receive F-16 fighters this fall and winter. He noted that “be that as it may,” but the issue of training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 “moved forward.”
In July, Politico reported that a coalition of 11 countries, led by Denmark and the Netherlands, was ready to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16, but could not do so without official permission from the United States. On August 8, at a Pentagon briefing, it was announced that US President Joe Biden allowed representatives of other countries to train Ukrainian pilots.
According to military experts Franz-Stefan Gadi and Michael Kofman, the supply of F-16 fighters will not help the Ukrainian army achieve quick success at the front.
The Washington Post wrotethat the training of Ukrainian pilots will begin only in January 2024, since before that they must complete four-month English courses in the UK. The training itself to fly the fighters will take another six months.
#Reuters #approves #sending #F16 #fighters #Denmark #Netherlands #Ukraine #Meduza
2023-08-17 22:36:00
