A coalition of 11 nations decided during the recent NATO summit in Lithuania to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in August in Denmark. A training center will also be set up in Romania for the same purpose.
NATO members Denmark and the Netherlands have been leading international efforts to train pilots as well as support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately enable the supply of F-16s to Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to Reuters.
„Hopefully, we will be able to see results in the beginning of next year,” Denmark’s acting defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen told reporters following a signing ceremony.
So far, no countries have committed to sending F-16s to Ukraine, though Poland and Slovakia have supplied 27 MiG-29s to supplement Ukraine’s fleet of combat aircraft.
Kyiv, which has launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces, has repeatedly called for Western countries to supply aircraft and train its pilots to fly them, to successfully counter Moscow’s aerial dominance, Reuters says.
At the summit, NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine’s future lies within the alliance but stopped short of handing Kyiv the invitation or timetable for accession that the country has been hoping for.
Happy birthday France! You’ve held up better than you may think
