Deputy head of the office of the Ukrainian President Andriy Sibiga added that the issue of the possible transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine is being discussed at the level of heads of state.
MOSCOW, August 19. /tass/. The possible transfer of Swedish Gripen fighters to Kiev should be coordinated with other countries except Sweden, including the United States, which supplied components for the production of this aircraft. This was announced by the deputy head of the office of the Ukrainian president Andriy Sibiga on the air of the telethon, which is broadcast on leading Ukrainian TV channels.
When asked whether it is necessary to ask permission from the United States to transfer Swedish Gripen fighters to Ukraine, Sibiga said: "It seems to me that it is necessary. Even in such aircraft as Gripen, there are certain components that require the consent of other allies. It is always a process, and we are actually in such a process."
Sibiga added that the issue of the possible transfer of fighters to Ukraine is being conducted at the level of heads of state. "Now we are already at the stage of translating issues related to aircraft into practical terms," he said.
On Saturday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that the training of Ukrainian pilots had begun and two Ukrainian pilots had already conducted test flights on the F-16 in the United States. Reznikov said that the training of Ukrainian pilots to control American F-16 fighters will take at least six months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson that the countries are discussing the potential possibility of transferring Gripen fighters to Kiev and Ukrainian pilots have already begun test flights on them. Kiev has long been asking Western allies to transfer the F-16 to Ukraine. The head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Andriy Ermak, stated that the country's authorities expect to receive these fighters by the end of this year. On August 17, Reuters, citing sources, reported that the United States had agreed to the transfer of American F-16s by Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine. As specified, these countries will send planes to Kiev after the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed. The Danish authorities later confirmed that they had received such a permit.
