The Prime Ministers of the Netherlands and Denmark made the announcement on Sunday during visits by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that their countries will begin delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine around the New Year.
After the United States approved the potential delivery of the fighter jets by the two nations, Ukraine received its first concrete promise of F-16s for its military.
Zelenskiy described the decision as a landmark agreement.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced that Denmark will deliver 19 jets to Ukraine over the course of the next three years, with the first six scheduled for delivery around the New Year, followed by eight in 2024 and five the year after.
Earlier on Sunday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated that the Netherlands has 42 F-16s available but that a decision on the number of fighter donations has not yet been made.
Ukraine’s pilot training on F-16s has been led by the Netherlands and Denmark for the past few months in an effort to counter Russia’s air superiority.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov stated that pilot training had begun, but that training for engineers and mechanics would take at least six months and possibly longer.
According to Frederiksen, 70 Ukrainian military officials have arrived in Denmark for training. Officials from the coalition of eleven nations have declared that Denmark and Romania will serve as training grounds.
