Ukrainian President Zelenskyy discusses F-16 issue in Netherlands, Denmark

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Netherlands after the US gave its approval to the Netherlands and Denmark for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Ihlas News Agency reported.

Zelenskyy was welcomed by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra at the military airport in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and inspected the aircraft planned to be given to Ukraine. The two then held a joint press conference.

In his statement, Rutte said that the Netherlands and Denmark will definitely give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine when the conditions for the transfer are met, adding that the Netherlands has a total of 42 F-16s, but it is too early to say whether all of them will be donated.

TO BE DELIVERED AFTER TRAINING

Stating that it is clear that the F-16s will not be delivered immediately, Rutte said that it will take time to properly train Ukrainian pilots and prepare the necessary infrastructure for the aircraft.

"Military training will start very soon and then it will of course take some time before the planes are operational with well-trained pilots, but we will do everything to make it happen as soon as possible," Rutte said.

AGREED ON NUMBER OF F-16S

In addition to this, Zelenskyy made a statement on his social media account after the meeting.

“Today we took another step to strengthen Ukraine's air shield. The F-16s will be used to keep Russian terrorists out of Ukrainian towns and cities. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and I have agreed on the number of F-16s that will be transferred to Ukraine once our pilots and engineers have completed their training,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

ZELENSKYY’S SELFIE WITH F-16

The Ukrainian President also took a selfie with Rutte with an F-16 fighter jet in the background and shared it on his social media account.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte at the military airport.

AFTER NETHERLANDS, DENMARK NEXT

After the Netherlands, Zelenskyy visited Denmark, and later he made a statement about his Denmark visit.

"We continue to work to strengthen Ukraine and protect our people. I will meet with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the Royal Family, members of the Folketing, and Danish business leaders. We are expanding our cooperation, preparing more good news for our fighters, and raising the F-16 issue,” he said.

Source: Ihlas News Agency