WASHINGTON—A US official said Thursday that the US has approved deploying F-16 fighter planes from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine to protect against Russian invaders as soon as pilot training is finished.
Ukraine has aggressively sought F-16 fighter fighters manufactured in the United States to assist it in countering Russian air supremacy.
According to the person, Washington assured Denmark and the Netherlands that the US will accelerate clearance of transfer requests for F-16s to travel to Ukraine after the pilots are trained.
“We welcome Washington’s decision to pave the way for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Now, we will further discuss the subject with our European partners.”
Denmark also stated that supplying the planes to Ukraine will now be explored.
“The government has said several times that a donation is a natural next step after training. We are discussing it with close allies, and I expect we will soon be able to be more concrete about that,” Danish defense minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen told news agency Ritzau on Friday.
The Danish defense ministry said on Friday that a coalition of 11 nations will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter planes later this month in Denmark.
Troels Poulsen, the country's acting defense minister, stated in July that the country planned to see "results" from the training in early 2024.
NATO countries Denmark and the Netherlands have led international efforts to train pilots and support personnel, maintain aircraft, and eventually enable Ukraine to get F-16s for use in its fight with Russia.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated in May that the Netherlands was seriously contemplating giving Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes, despite the fact that the Netherlands is now phasing out the fighter jets from its own armed forces.
According to Dutch defense ministry estimates, the Netherlands presently maintains 24 operational F-16s that will be phased down by mid-2024. Another 18 planes are now for sale, with 12 being sold on a temporary basis.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests would be approved, the U.S. official said.
“I am writing to express the United States’ full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors,” Mr. Blinken said in a letter to the two officials, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Mr. Blinken said, “It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty.”
He stated that if the requests are granted, Ukraine would be able to "take full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training."
U.S. In May, President Joe Biden backed training programs for Ukrainian F-16 pilots. A training center in Romania was to be established in addition to instruction in Denmark.
Ukraine's air force spokeswoman, Yuriy Ihnat, told Ukrainian television late Wednesday that the country's F-16 fighter planes will not be able to fly this autumn and winter.
According to US sources, F-16 planes would have been of little use to Ukraine in its present counteroffensive and will not be a game changer when they ultimately arrive due to Russian air defense systems and disputed airspace over Ukraine.
