Denmark and Washington confirmed the US permission to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Lars Lücke Rasmussen confirmed that the US approved the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine after pilot training. However, the decision on the delivery of fighters has not yet been made.

He informed about this in a comment on the TV 2 channel.

"The government has stated several times that the transfer of aircraft is a natural next step after pilot training. We are discussing this with our closest allies, and I expect that we will be able to specify it in the near future," the Danish Minister of Defense emphasizes.

Subsequently, US Presidentʼs National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed the agreement to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine after pilot training. Washington did send relevant letters to Denmark and the Netherlands, which lead the pilot training coalition.

Meanwhile, as CNN reports, Denmarkʼs Ministry of Defense said it plans to begin training at the end of this month.

The day before, Reuters, citing an anonymous American official, reported that the United States agreed to provide Ukraine with F-16 aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands. It is noted that the White House gave official assurances to the Netherlands and Denmark that Washington would approve all necessary requests for the supply of aircraft.

• On May 16, 2023, Britain informed about the start of an international coalition of countries that will train Ukrainian pilots to fly fourth-generation Western fighter jets, including the F-16. The coalition included 11 countries. Denmark and the Netherlands are expected to be the first countries to begin training pilots.
• The official training plan has not yet been approved. On July 1, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the partners were delaying the training schedule of Ukrainian pilots.
• On August 2, CNN wrote that European countries have not yet handed over the final training plan to the US, so there are proposals to send pilots to the US for training at an air base in Arizona.
• On August 5, Politico learned that the first group of Ukrainian pilots who will train on the F-16 have already been identified — there will be 32 of them in total.