Belgium will transfer 30 F-16 fighters to Ukraine by 2028. The first planes will be sent this year

Belgium will transfer 30 F-16 fighters to Ukraine by 2028. The first planes should be sent by the end of 2024, but their exact number has not been specified.

This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Aja Lyabib, in a comment to RTL.

According to Lyabib, the commitment to transfer the fighter jets will be enshrined in the agreement, which will be signed during the visit of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to Belgium on May 28. In addition, Belgium will also take ammunition from its stockpiles to equip F-16s destined for Ukraine.

According to Lyabib, this support is necessary for Ukraine to stop Vladimir Putin, who decided to "push back the borders of European countries."

In total, four countries agreed to transfer F-16 fighters to Ukraine: the Netherlands ( more than 70 machines, some of which are training ), Denmark ( 19 units ), as well as Norway and Belgium, which did not announce the exact number of fighters.

Initially, Belgium was engaged only in training, technical and logistical support of Ukrainian pilots. But in October 2023, it also promised to provide a certain number of F-16 fighters — instead, it will receive American F-35s.

• Ukrainian military pilots and technicians are already undergoing training in the USA, Britain, France, Denmark and Romania. It is expected that Ukraine will have the first six F-16 fighters and 12 trained pilots already in the summer of 2024.