The Belgian government has decided to reconsider its decision not to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighters, replaced in the country by F-35, RTBF reported on September 22, citing the country's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
As noted in the publication, the Prime Minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York said that the Belgian Ministry of Defense will analyze whether outdated F-16s can be delivered to Ukraine, as well as when and for what purpose.
"We will need our F-16s for some more period, because it will take time to deliver the F-35," he said.
According to him, the F-16, whose service life is expiring, could be used in Ukraine only for training purposes, but not for combat missions, or else go for spare parts.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that Belgium F-16 may need a few more years.
The article clarifies that Belgium has joined the "F-16 coalition" led by the Netherlands and Denmark. However, unlike these countries, Brussels was not going to supply fighters to Kiev yet, but only announced participation in the training of Ukrainian pilots for these aircraft.
On August 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced an agreement with the Danish authorities on the supply of F-16. It was reported that 19 fighters will be transferred to Kiev. The Ukrainian leader also agreed on a similar transfer with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. It is assumed that Ukraine will receive a total of 42 aircraft.
At the same time, military expert Vasily Dandykin, in an interview with Izvestia, noted that Ukraine probably will not receive the F-16 promised by Western countries in the fall or winter of this year, as it has problems with personnel training. He also noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not yet ready to host such "rather capricious aircraft", since the country does not have the necessary road structure.
Western countries have increased military and financial support for Ukraine with the beginning of the Russian Federation's special operation to protect Donbass, which Russia announced on February 24, 2022. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the aggression of Ukrainian troops.
