WASHINGTON: The United States (US) has approved sending F-16s to Kyiv from the Netherlands and Denmark to defend against Russia as soon as pilot training program is completed, a US official revealed on Thursday.
US Approves Sending F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine
Kyiv has actively sought the F-16 jets to help it counter Russian air dominance, Reuters reported. The US gave the Netherlands and Denmark official assurances that Washington will expedite approval of all essential third-party transfer requests of fighter jets to Kyiv so that it will get F-16 jets when the pilots are completely trained.
The Netherlands and Denmark, the two nations leading the training coalition, had recently urged for those assurances.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had sent letters to his Dutch and Danish counterparts assuring them that the requests would be accepted, the official added.
Reuters reported that the US top diplomat said, “I am writing to express Washington’s complete support for both the transfer of F-16 jets to Kyiv and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 trainers,”. The US Secretary of State said, “It remains critical that Kyiv is able to defend itself against Russian aggression.”
He said the approval of the third-party requests would permit Kyiv to take “full advantage of its new abilities as soon as the pilots complete their training program.”
US President Joe Biden had authorized training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets in May, but no timing for the supply of fighter jets had been given so far.
