Ukraine to receive F-16 fighter jets from Netherlands and Denmark as US approves transfer

Europe, News, US August 20, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States approved the request to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands. The significant upgrade is expected to provide substantial benefit to Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion.

The Dutch and Danes had been seeking approval from Washington for re-exporting their F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as Kyiv is actively looking towards its Western allies to help counter Russia’s air superiority.

Despite attaining approval from the U.S. for the deliveries of jets, it would take a long time for the European allies to hand over the fighter jets to the Ukrainian pilots.

A U.S. official said that the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a letter to his Dutch and Danish counterparts earlier this week, offering formal assurance that the U.S. would fast-track approval of all requests from third parties to transfer F-16s to Ukraine.

“We welcome Washington’s decision to pave the way for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Twitter. “Now, we will further discuss the subject with our European partners,” he added.

Denmark also said providing Ukraine with the jets would now be discussed. “The government has said several times that a donation is a natural next step after training. We are discussing it with close allies, and I expect we will soon be able to be more concrete about that,” Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen told a news agency.

*^{F-16 fighter jets flying in formation. (Image Credit: Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands)}*

Ukraine had been pleading to acquire sophisticated fighter jets to bolster its strategic advantage in the ongoing counteroffensive against the Russian forces. Ukrainian forces have been making slow but steady progress in their counteroffensive; however, the ground forces are facing a severe disadvantage due to the lack of air cover.

U.S. President Joe Biden said this year in May that he was in favor of sending the F-16 jets to Ukraine. The U.S. President shared his intention during the G7 meeting in Japan as the National security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the U.S. would also train Kyiv’s pilots to use the jets.

Currently, the Ukrainian air force is supporting its advancing infantry using decades-old Soviet-era fight jets, which are highly vulnerable against Russia’s sophisticated new fleet of fighter jets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also been requesting his European and North American allies to send modern fighter jets to Ukraine. Some capitals, such as London and Paris, heeded Kyiv’s requests by providing tons of ammunition and cruise missiles, however, providing fighter jets to Ukrainian forces proved to be more complicated than it was anticipated.

*^{Danish F-16AM fighters flying in formation. (Image Credit: Royal Danish Air Force)}*

For a long time, European leaders denied Ukraine’s request to acquire fighter jets due to the training complications as well as the fears of escalation. In February, as Kyiv was preparing for its counteroffensive, the Ukrainian President held meetings with French, German, and British leaders requesting fighter jets and weapons.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused Ukraine’s request for F-35 and Typhoon jets saying that providing high-end fighter jets to Ukraine is not the right approach. He said that it takes at least three years to train a pilot to be able to fly a modern-era fighter jet in a battlefield scenario.