The United States officially approved the dispatch of American F-16 fighters from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine after the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed.
Source: edition Reuters referring to an unnamed American official
Details: Washington has provided formal assurances to Denmark and the Netherlands that the US will expedite the approval of all necessary third-party requests to transfer F-16s to Ukraine so that it will receive the fighters when the pilots are trained, the newspaper writes.
Denmark and the Netherlands, which lead the aviation coalition, recently sent a request to the United States for the provision of appropriate guarantees.
A Reuters source told Reuters that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests would be approved.
“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 F-16 instructors,” Blinken said in a letter, a copy of which was read by the publication.
According to Blinken, approving third-party requests will allow Ukraine “to take full advantage of its new capabilities once the first set of pilots complete their training.”
What preceded this:
Earlier, The Washington Post newspaper, citing Ukrainian, European and American officials and the military, wrote that Ukraine would probably be without F-16 pilots for another year. The New York Times believes that Ukraine can win the counteroffensive without F-16 fighters, and their presence would not have a decisive influence on the situation on the battlefield. Recently, the speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Yuriy Ignat, said that next fall and winter, Ukraine will not be able to defend its skies with American F-16 fighters.
2023-08-17 21:59:36
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