F-16s for Ukraine: Denmark and Netherlands Confirm Receipt of US Approval

, 18 August 2023, 10:43

Denmark and the Netherlands have confirmed that they received permission from the US to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, and now they will continue to discuss this issue with their European partners.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, said in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV 2 they had received a "friendly response" to their request and that the response was now "part of our next steps." "I can confirm that there has been an exchange of letters between myself and Antony Blinken, which is based on the fact that the Minister of Defence and I have approached the US to explore our options," Rasmussen said.

At the same time, Rasmussen said that the terms of the supply of the F-16s to Ukraine has not yet been determined.

Wopke Hoekstra, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, commenting on the US authorisation, called this decision "an important event" for Ukraine.

"We welcome Washington's decision to pave the way for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Many thanks to Antony Blinken for his good and swift cooperation," Hoekstra wrote on X.

Hoekstra added that now the issue of F-16s for Ukraine will continue to be discussed with European partners.

Reuters reported earlier that the United States has officially approved the supply of US-made F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine after the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed. 

In mid-July, 11 partner countries together with Ukraine signed a memorandum that defines the conditions for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

The training is supposed to start in August, but according to the media, the US has not yet approved the final training plan, as European states have not agreed on all its details.