The United States has given the green light for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver F-16 jets to Ukraine, European and US officials said Friday, in a major development for Kiev although the fighter jets will have no immediate impact in a war that has already escalated. almost 18 months.
It was not immediately clear when the first F-16s could be used, but Ukrainian pilots will first have to undergo at least six months of training to be able to use the sophisticated aircraft, the officials said.
Ukraine has long begged for these planes so that they can be used in battle. He recently launched a much-anticipated counter-offensive against Russian forces, but without air cover, leaving his troops at the mercy of Russian aircraft and artillery.
Even so, Air Force General James Hecker, commander of US air forces in Europe and Africa, told reporters in Washington that he does not believe the F-16s will be decisive for Ukraine. Getting them combat-ready could take “four or five years,” he added.
But in eastern Ukraine, combat helicopter pilots welcomed the news. They said that Russia has a clear advantage in the skies and that the arrival of the F-16s could drastically change the balance of the war.
Ukrainian forces are using Soviet-era models to support their infantry, which has been left vulnerable to air-to-air missiles from Russian fighters, Capt. Yevgen Rakita, spokesman for the Army’s 18th Aviation Brigade, told The Associated Press. .
“A modern war cannot be won without (the capability of) aviation,” Rakita declared.
In making the decision on the F-16s, Washington is seeking to ensure that the planes are delivered to Ukraine as soon as their pilots complete their training, said a US official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. in public.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sent letters to his counterparts in the Netherlands and Denmark this week, offering formal assurances that the US will expedite all third-party requests to send F-16s to Ukraine. .
Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said on Friday that training for the Ukrainian pilots will start this month.
A coalition of 11 Western countries – the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom – vowed to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the fighters.
Official sources had previously indicated that the Ukrainian pilots will require between six and eight months of training.
Denmark will deliver some of its F-16s only after receiving new F-35 jets, the first four of which are due to arrive on October 1.
Washington’s approval is needed to deliver the planes to other countries because the planes are made in the United States.
Ukraine’s Western allies have at times been slow to deliver the military equipment it has requested.
