par Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has approved Denmark and the Netherlands to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help defend against Russian invasion as soon as its pilots will have completed their training, a U.S. official said Thursday.
Washington has given official assurances to Copenhagen and Amsterdam that the United States will expedite approval of all requests to transfer F-16s to Ukraine so that Kyiv will receive planes once the pilots have been trained.
Denmark and the Netherlands had recently requested such guarantees.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a letter to his Danish and Dutch counterparts to assure them that the requests would be approved, the official said.
“I am writing to convey the full support of the United States for the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors,” wrote Antony Blinken. in this letter, of which Reuters was able to consult a copy.
“It is crucial that Ukraine can defend itself against Russian aggression and the violation of its sovereignty,” he said.
Antony Blinken said that the approval of requests from third countries would allow Ukraine to take “full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first group of pilots have completed their training”.
(Report Steve Holland; French version Camille Raynaud)
2023-08-17 21:33:00
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