COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Tuesday that he expected Denmark and its allies to decide whether to donate Western fighter planes to Ukraine “before the summer” as deliveries of Slovak and Polish MiG-29s have begun.
During a visit to Ukraine, the acting defence minister said that dialogue takes time because countries must act together.
He said that Denmark would not take the decision alone. Denmark needed to do this together with several other countries. It would also have discussions with the US about this.
Poland and Slovakia began deliveries of Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter planes to Ukraine in late March and early April this year.
Warsaw has said it was ready to give away all of its MiG-29 jets, around 30.
But despite requests from Ukraine, no modern fighter planes like the US-designed F-16 have been promised, and the US has so far said it would not send fighter planes.
France and Netherlands have not ruled out sending fighter planes, and in February, the UK offered to train Ukrainian fighter pilots.
Denmark’s fleet
Denmark has a fleet of forty-three US-designed F-16s, thirty of which are in active service.
It is being replaced by the more modern jet F-35, of which Denmark has purchased 27.
