The US will train 12 Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in 2024, their training will be completed between May and August, a US Air Force spokesman has said.
“The Air Force is to train 12 Ukrainian pilots in fiscal year 2024. They will all graduate between May and August,” the spokesman told reporters.
The Netherlands and Denmark were the first to agree to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. The White House confirmed that Ukraine will receive the combat aircraft from third countries after its pilots have completed training.
The head of the Dutch Defence Ministry, Kajsa Ollongren, said that The Hague expects to send Kiev the first F-16 fighter jets in 2024. As the Russian ambassador to The Hague, Aleksandr Shulgin, noted earlier, the Dutch “turn a blind eye” to the fact that supplying their F-16 fighter jets to Kiev will lead to a prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine and more suffering of its citizens.