Norway has decided to transfer F-16 aircraft to Ukraine. Thus, it will become the third NATO country, after the Netherlands and Denmark, to provide Ukraine with these fighter jets.
The corresponding statement was made with reference to several independent sources of the broadcaster TV2.
The handover of the fighters has not yet been officially announced, but Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Har Stere is currently on an official visit to Kyiv.
Earlier he said that Norway will not send F-16 to Ukraine. However, TV 2 wrote that Norway has a certain number of F-16s that can be transferred to Ukraine. In total, Norway has 57 F-16 aircraft.
- Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has been calling on its allies to provide Western-type combat aircraft.
- On July 11, at the NATO summit in Vilnius, 11 countries and Ukraine signed a memorandum on the creation of a coalition to train Ukrainian military pilots on F-16 fighters. The coalition was led by Denmark and the Netherlands, and also included Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Great Britain.
- On August 19, the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov informed that Ukrainian pilots have already started training on the F-16 in Great Britain and Sweden. On August 20, during his visit to Denmark, Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ukrainian pilots who are studying at the Fighter Wing Skrydstrup Air Base.
- The US, in turn, has already approved the transfer of American F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine after the completion of Ukrainian pilot training.
- On August 20, Zelensky said that the Netherlands can transfer 42 fighter jets, and Denmark — 19. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed hope that the first group of six F-16s will head to Ukraine closer to the New Year.