18 August 2023, Friday, 16:30 284

Netherlands and Denmark confirm receiving U.S. approval for transfer of F-16s to Ukraine

Editor: Daria Zubkova

Читати українською

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The Netherlands confirmed that they had received approval from the U.S. to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The country will continue to discuss issues with its European allies. This was announced by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra.

"We welcome Washington's decision to pave the way for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Many thanks to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for good and quick cooperation," he wrote.

Hoekstra noted that now the Netherlands will continue to discuss this issue with European partners.

Denmark has confirmed that it has received approval from the U.S. for the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This will happen after the end of training for Ukrainian pilots, TV 2 reports.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Lars Lokke Rasmussen noted that Denmark has sent a request to the USA regarding the supply of aircraft to Ukraine. According to the Minister, Copenhagen received a "friendly response" from Washington.

"I can confirm that there has been an exchange of letters between me and Antony Blinken, based on the fact that the Minister of Defense and I have approached the United States to explore our options," the Foreign Minister said.

At the same time, Rasmussen emphasizes that the decision to supply F-16 fighters to Ukraine has not yet been made. This issue is being discussed with allies.

"The decision on this matter has not been made. We have created an international coalition with training activities under the leadership of Denmark and the Netherlands, and we are successfully continuing. Then we will talk about the possible transfer of aircraft, we are discussing this issue with our allies," the Minister added.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on August 9, U.S. President Joseph Biden gave his consent for allies to begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

Earlier, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said that for successful advancement on the front, Ukraine needs a lot of shells and necessarily F-16 fighter jets.

In addition, American F-16 fighter jets can approach 100% shooting down of enemy missiles and drones over Ukraine.