Minister of Defense of the Republic Mariusz Blaszczak thanked Denmark and the Netherlands for coordinating the project of training Ukrainian pilots
VILNIUS, July 11. /tass/. The Polish authorities at the NATO summit promised Ukraine to provide infrastructure for training F-16 fighter pilots. This was stated on Tuesday by the Minister of Defense of the Republic Mariusz Blaszczak.
"For my part, I declare support in the form of the opening of our infrastructure and courses for training on the F-16," he wrote on Twitter.
Blashchak also thanked Denmark and the Netherlands for coordinating the project of training Ukrainian pilots.
On July 10, the representative of the command of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuriy Ignat, said that many Western countries are skeptical about the transfer of aircraft to Kiev, in particular F-16 fighters, so negotiations on this issue are complicated and protracted. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian pilots could begin training on F-16 fighters in August, and in six to seven months the first aircraft could arrive in the country.
On May 21, US President Joe Biden announced at a press conference following the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima that the West would begin training Ukrainian pilots in the skills of controlling fourth-generation fighters, including the F-16. At the same time, Assistant to the US President for National Security Jake Sullivan said that Washington will discuss with like-minded people in the coming months which states will transfer F-16 aircraft to Kiev.
