The first F-16 fighter jets are on their way from the Netherlands and Denmark to Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on July 10 during the NATO summit in Washington.
Norway will donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, with the deliveries starting this year, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a press release on July 10.
Key updates on July 9: * Rescue operations end at Kyiv children's hospital, at least 33 killed in capital overall * Ukraine struck airbase, oil depot, and energy facility in Russia overnight, source says * Ukrainian partisans say they sabotaged railway in Russia's Rostov Oblast * North Korean military trainers travel to Russia weeks
"Ukrainian aviation should receive long-range missiles to destroy Russia's infrastructure, including airfields. When this happens, the logistics of the Russian army will be cut off from the main forces. If this is done, Ukraine's army command should form a strike group and strike back," Kraszewski said.
As Kyiv gets ready to receive the first batch of Western F-16 fighter jets, Ukraine's airfields face an uptick in Russian strikes. Over the past week, Moscow carried out at least three missile strikes targeting Ukrainian airfields — in Myrhorod, Poltava, and Kryvyi Rih — all located around 100 kilometers (68 miles)
Ukraine wants to expand its shipping corridor, which contains only maritime traffic from the three main Odesa ports, to include the ports of Mykolaiv and Kherson in the country's south, Navy Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa told Reuters. However, it is not possible since Russia controls the Kinburn Spit, he added.
The Dutch defense minister did not disclose the exact date or other delivery details, citing "operational security" concerns.
House Democrats say in a letter obtained by Politico that Kyiv "will have more F-16 aircraft than they will have qualified pilots to fly them by the end of the year," which "threatens to undermine the strategic advantages" that these aircraft can provide to Ukraine.
Denmark will stop training Ukrainian F-16 pilots by the end of this year as the country transitions to operating F-35 fighter jets, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on June 24.
Romania's Mihai Kogalniceanu (MK) airbase, named after a nearby village honoring a 19th-century liberal politician, is set to become NATO's largest base in Europe, surpassing Ramstein in Germany.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, neighboring Slovakia, with its own experience of decades of Russian occupation in the 20th century, became one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine. Under the guidance of then-Defense Minister Jaroslav
Denmark on June 18 announced its 19th assistance package for Ukraine, including financial aid for Ukraine's defense industry, equipment for F-16 fighter jets, and donations from Danish military stocks.
The U.S. is "deliberately delaying" F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots, resulting in a situation where there will be "fewer trained pilots than fighter jets," Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova said to the Times in an article published on June 17.
With the gradual arrival of military aid, including the first batch of F-16 fighter jets, time will favor Ukraine, while Russia's chances of success will decrease, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said on June 17.
The recent string of Ukrainian strikes against occupied Crimea may help degrade Russian air defenses in the area and decrease the threat to Ukrainian tactical aviation, said Federico Borsari, a Leonardo Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), in a comment for the Kyiv Independent on June 12.
The Netherlands will deliver its first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine already this summer, shortly after Denmark, outgoing Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in an interview with European Pravda published on June 12.
Key developments on June 10: * Ukraine hit Russian S-400, S-300 systems in occupied Crimea overnight, General Staff says * Ukraine refutes Kadyrov's claims about captured Sumy Oblast border village * Russia uses submarines to patrol Black Sea after naval losses, military says * Nearly 20,000 Wagner mercenaries died taking Bakhmut, media investigation
A number of F-16 fighter jets donated by Western allies to Ukraine will be stationed at air bases abroad, Serhii Holubtsov, a top officer at the Air Force Command, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) published on June 9.
Over the past several weeks, Kyiv has officially requested that the U.S. train the additional pilots at the Tucson facility. The U.S. has not granted the request, citing committments to other nations in line for F-16 training at the base.
The comments come a day after Denmark said Ukraine may use Danish-supplied F-16 jets to strike military targets in Russian territory, as this would be "within the rules of war."
Key developments on May 30: * Ukraine hit 4 Russian patrol boats in occupied Crimea overnight, military intelligence says * Ukraine hits Russian ferry crossing with ATACMS in Crimea, General Staff says * Politico: Biden quietly allows Ukraine to strike Russia with US arms but 'solely near Kharkiv' * Ukraine can use Danish-supplied F-16s
Ukraine can use F-16 jets to strike military targets in Russian territory, as this would be "within the rules of war," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels on May 30.
Russia has 500,000 troops in Ukraine and near its borders and is preparing to involve another 200,000-300,000, aiming to "open a new front in the north to start using all their manpower, firing power," Umerov said.
"We have been urged by the other countries in the coalition to wait with the Gripen system," Defense Minister Pal Jonson told TT in Brussels, adding: "This has to do with the fact that the focus is now on introducing the F-16 system."
"Everything which is covered by this agreement... is for the utilization by the Ukrainian defense forces on Ukrainian territory," Prime Minister Alexander De Croo responded to a journalist's question about whether Ukraine will be able to use Belgian F-16 jets to down Russian jets in Russian airspace.
The announcement accompanies news that President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Belgium on May 28 to sign a bilateral security agreement.
"The war in Ukraine has shown how important it is to be able to hit targets located even very far from the front line," the Polish Defense Ministry said.
Belgium will become the 11th country to sign such an accord with Ukraine, following Spain, the U.K., Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Canada,the Netherlands, Finland, and Latvia.
Key updates on May 24: * General Staff: Russian troops halted in Kharkiv sector, Ukraine conducts counterattacks * Putin looking for ceasefire to cement gains in Ukraine, Reuters reports citing sources * Attack on occupied Crimea damages communications equipment, casualties reported, partisans claim * First group of Ukrainian pilots passes F-16 training in US
The aviators will now move to Europe for additional training, Politico wrote, citing an undisclosed source.
Ten Ukrainian soldiers completed training for the F-16 aircraft maintenance in the Netherlands, the Dutch Defense Ministry announced on May 21.
The Evening Standard's source did not reveal which of the allies will be the first one to deliver the planes.
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American air superiority fighter that Kyiv has requested from its allies since the start of the full-scale invasion. Denmark and the Netherlands founded the "fighter jet coalition" for Ukraine on July 11, 2023 at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania with nine other countries: Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
These countries pledged to help provide Kyiv with F-16s and train Ukrainian pilots and technical staff to operate the jets. Washington gave its approval in August 2023 to the Netherlands and Denmark to donate their F-16s to Ukraine after training was complete, and agreed to start training Ukrainian pilots in Arizona from October 2023.
Kyiv has been promised 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium, with the first 20 reportedly scheduled to arrive by the end of 2024. Belgium will supply Ukraine with 30 F-16 fighter jets by 2028.
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