The Netherlands and Denmark pledged to provide Ukraine with US-made fighter jets once pilot training and other preparations are complete, a day after a Russian missile strike on the heart of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed seven people and injured 144 others.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the Netherlands and Denmark over the weekend, inspected F-16s in both countries and thanked them for agreeing to supply jets that Kyiv has been requesting for many months.
He initially said the Netherlands would send 42 F-16s to his country, but that was not confirmed by Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte. The timeline for delivery is also unclear, and Kyiv has said it does not expect to receive the jets until sometime next year, when its pilots have been fully trained and logistics and repair operations for the planes are in place.
“Today we can announce that the Netherlands and Denmark commit to the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine and the Ukrainian air force,” Mr Rutte said on Sunday alongside Mr Zelenskiy at a military airbase in Eindhoven.
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Separately, Danish defence minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said: “It makes me proud that Denmark, together with the Netherlands, will donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine’s struggle for freedom against Russia and its senseless aggression. Denmark’s support for Ukraine is unwavering, and with the donation of F-16 aircraft, Denmark is now leading the way.”
Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov said training had now begun and is likely to take a minimum of six months. The instruction is expected to take place in Denmark until the establishment of a training base in fellow Nato and European Union member Romania.
“Another step to bolster Ukraine’s sky shield is F-16s. We will use these jets to keep Russian terrorists away from Ukrainian cities and villages,” Mr Zelenskiy said, calling the Dutch decision on the planes “historic, powerful and motivational” for his country.
After talks in Stockholm on Saturday, Mr Zelenskiy said he was also seeking Swedish warplanes for Ukraine: “Now, we have a breakthrough result regarding Gripen fighters ... Our soldiers are already starting to test them. And step-by-step, negotiation-by-negotiation, we are getting closer to ... Gripen fighters appearing in our sky.”
Ukraine is pressing allies to expand and accelerate delivery of air defence systems before winter, when Russia is expected to target its energy grid, as it did last year, plunging millions of people into prolonged blackouts during the coldest and darkest months.
Mr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s military would respond after seven people were killed and 144 others hurt when a Russian missile hit the middle of the northern city of Chernihiv on Saturday, badly damaging a theatre where drone makers were meeting and causing carnage on a busy Orthodox Church holiday.
Moscow said its air defences thwarted numerous Ukrainian drone attacks over western Russia during the weekend. It also said five people were hurt when a drone hit a train station in the city of Kursk and a military plane was damaged in a drone strike on an airfield where Russian strategic bombers are based some 700km north of Ukraine.
