Ukraine hails US approval of Danish and Dutch F-16 jet transfers

AFP | Kyiv      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Kyiv hailed ‘great news’ yesterday after the United States told Denmark and the Netherlands they can hand Ukraine their F-16 fighter jets when the country’s pilots are trained to use them.

“Great news from our friends in the United States!” Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov said on social media. Washington has told Denmark and the Netherlands that they will be permitted to hand over their F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine when the country’s pilots are trained to operate them, the US State Department said Friday.

Both Denmark and the Netherlands, which are leading the program to train Ukraine’s pilots on the F-16, have been given “formal assurances” for a jet transfer, a State Department spokesman said.

“This way, Ukraine can take full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training,” the spokesman said. Washington has told Denmark and the Netherlands that they will be permitted to hand over their F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine when the country’s pilots are trained to operate them, the US State Department said yesterday.

The US keeps tight restrictions on the resale or transfer of US-made military equipment by allies. It remained unclear how long it would take before the first Ukrainian pilots are ready to fly F-16s.

Training by an 11-nation coalition was to begin this month, and officials have said they hoped for pilots to be ready by early 2024. Netherlands Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren welcomed the move. “It allows us to follow through on the training of Ukrainian pilots,” she said on social media.