Belgium says Ukraine may receive first F-16s by summer

The European Union will increase military assistance to Ukraine in response to massive missile attacks by Russia. The first F-16 multi-role fighter jets will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming months.

This was stated by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo during a conversation with journalists in Brussels. According to him, the first F-16 with trained Ukrainian pilots may arrive in Ukraine before the summer.

"We provide training for Ukrainian pilots on our aircraft. The first aircraft with trained pilots should be delivered by the summer of this year," the politician said.

According to de Kroo, the F-16 coalition is important because the fighters also have anti-aircraft capabilities. The delivery of these aircraft will strengthen Ukraine's air shield amid recent Russian attacks, the Belgian Prime Minister said.

Alexander de Kroo also said that on Wednesday evening, April 17, European partners discussed ways to strengthen the protection of Ukrainian skies. In particular, Germany is already sending an additional Patriot system. The North Atlantic Alliance also calls for the transfer of existing air defense systems to Ukraine, as this will bring more benefits than storing them in Europe.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Dutch Defense Minister Keesa Ollongren earlier said that her country plans to transfer only 24 F-16 fighters to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military will receive them after completing all the necessary training.

It is worth noting that Ukraine needs the F-16 fighters that it is about to receive to counter Russian Su-34 and Su-35, which are dropping missiles on Ukrainian positions and frontline settlements. Currently, our country "can do too little to fight back," but F-16s could give it a chance.

It was noted that Ukraine will receive F-16 fighters in the first half of this year. First, the planes will arrive from Denmark.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the first group of Ukrainian pilots has completed intensive basic flight training on F-16s under the guidance of instructors from the British Royal Air Force. This program included basic flight, technical, and language training, which took place in the UK.

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