World
Denmark is ready to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, but there is a caveat
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that his government is ready to join the so-called Aircraft Coalition and send its own F-16 fighter jets to help Ukraine. However, Copenhagen must obtain permission from the United States as the manufacturer of these combat aircraft.
This was reported by Radio4. The official stressed that, for his part, he sees no reason why Denmark could refuse to provide such important assistance to the Ukrainian side for the counter-offensive.
"I would like to say that I cannot imagine that we would not support. Ukraine needs aircraft. Its army is now trying to drive the invaders out of its territory. That's why it needs our fighter jets," Frederiksen said, addressing journalists.
As a reminder, on 15 May 2023, President Zelenskyy announced the creation of a "aircraft coalition" for Ukraine during his visit to the United Kingdom. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately announced that his country was going to become a key member of this coalition. The next day, on 16 May, the Netherlands, represented by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, announced its desire to join, and the coalition began to take on more or less clear signs.
Although the United States is in no hurry to provide Ukraine with such aircraft, its ambassador to the OSCE, Michael Carpenter, said that Washington would likely support the allies' decision to provide the Ukrainian army with F-16 fighter jets. And the US corporation Lockheed Martin, which produces F-16 fighters, has announced its readiness to increase production of these aircraft for countries that will transfer their F-16s to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Earlier, OBOZREVATEL reported that, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Ukrainian pilots have already begun training to fly F-16s, with Denmark leading the systematic training process.
However, a short time later, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ihnat, denied this statement. He noted that the Ukrainian command wants the pilots to start learning to fly the F-16 as soon as possible, but that so far, there is only a state of readiness in this matter. He did not rule out the possibility that Stoltenberg's words were mistranslated or taken out of context.
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