Pilots from Ukraine will soon begin training in the management of F-16 fighter jets, Dutch Foreign Minister Vopke Hoekstra said on May 22 during a meeting of the Council of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels.
"We will take care to do it as soon as possible," he assured reporters.
At the same time, the Dutch Foreign Minister did not specify "in days, weeks or months" when exactly the training will begin.
"However, every time we made a fundamental decision, we usually concretized the operational side very quickly," the minister said.
On May 17, Hoekstra pointed to the lack of progress in negotiations on the supply of F-16 fighters to Ukraine, notes "Газета.Ru ".
Meanwhile, the head of the German Defense Ministry, Boris Pistorius, stressed that Germany does not have military equipment and the necessary capabilities to take an active part in the coalition to supply fighters to Kiev.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on May 3 called the issue of transferring F-16 fighters to Ukraine difficult. He pointed to the continuation of the discussion on this issue.
At the same time, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stressed that the republic is not going to transfer its fighters to Ukraine, since it needs them itself. At the same time, he pointed to the country's readiness to continue supporting Kiev.
On May 2, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Dmitry Kuleba, said that the decision on the supply of F-16 fighters to Kiev would depend on the results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. He also noted that if Ukraine already had F-16s, the counteroffensive "would be faster."
The West has increased military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 last year amid the aggravation of the situation in the region due to Ukrainian shelling.
