Without giving information on the number or on the possible delivery date, Norwegian media announced on Thursday August 24 that Norway would deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Scandinavian kingdom thus becomes the third country to deliver such devices to the Eastern European state.
Contacted by AFP, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, through a spokesperson, wanted to “neither confirm nor deny” this information. This emerges as Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre makes a surprise visit to kyiv on Thursday, Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Of the 57 Norwegian F-16s officially offered for sale, 32 have already been sold to Romania and 12 others have been sold to the private American group Draken International without yet being delivered.
If the information from the NRK and TV2 channels and the Aftenposten newspaper were to be confirmed, Norway would become the third country to commit to supplying F-16s to Ukraine after the Netherlands and Denmark.
