Denmark said that the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine has been postponed for six months
The Danish Defense Ministry has decided to postpone the delivery of the first batch of American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. According to the Danish authorities, Kiev is not yet ready to operate such equipment. They expect that all conditions for the transfer will be met in the second quarter of 2024. In Russia, it was suggested that the delay was due to Denmark's domestic political problems. Details can be found in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
The Danish Ministry of Defense announced that they decided to postpone the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine for up to six months. This was written by the Danish newspaper Berlingske . Earlier, the Danish authorities promised to send planes at the end of 2023.
"However, with the current schedule, the donation is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2024," the article says.
According to the publication, the Danish Defense Ministry does not want to transfer combat aircraft to Ukraine, as the country has not fulfilled a number of conditions, which is why it cannot use these fighters.
"In particular, we are talking about completing the training of Ukrainian personnel who will operate the aircraft after the transfer. The exercise schedule also depends on a number of factors, such as equipment and weather conditions. In addition, the international Air Force coalition continues to work to ensure the necessary logistics and infrastructure in Ukraine," the representatives of the department said.
Berlingske writes that six Ukrainian pilots are currently training in Denmark. In addition, it is also necessary to train ground personnel and create infrastructure at Ukrainian airfields.
Denmark was expected to send eight fighter jets to Ukraine in 2024, and five more in 2025. There is no data yet on whether these deliveries will be delayed.
Norway and Belgium also promised to supply Kiev with F-16 fighters, but did not give exact figures and deadlines. The Netherlands promised to send 18 fighter jets, but local authorities stressed that the schedule depends on both the export permit and Ukraine's ability to use these aircraft.
Russia's reaction
Yuri Shvytkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Defense, in an interview with Lenta.ru" suggested that the Danish authorities could postpone the delivery of the F-16 due to internal problems in the country.
"I think the Danish population is forcing the country's leadership to understand that it is necessary to work for their country, and not for Ukraine, which is a springboard, in order to weaken our state as much as possible. And the population of the country, I think, is doing everything possible to make them face their own population," Shvytkin said.
According to the deputy, the Russian military is ready for the Ukrainians to receive Western fighter jets. He claims that whatever equipment the West has supplied, it will be destroyed by military units of the Russian Federation.
Conditions for the transfer of F-16 fighters
The West promised to transfer the F-16 to Kiev if the country creates the necessary conditions for the use of these fighters. In particular, Ukrainian pilots should be able to use the transferred equipment. To do this, the first group, consisting of 16 Ukrainians, was sent to the UK. For about five months, they trained to fly and mastered aviation terminology in English. In December, six experienced pilots from this group left for Denmark to continue their studies, while ten trainees remained in the UK. They will continue basic training.
The American edition of The Washington Post writes that the training of experienced Ukrainian pilots will take about a year, of which it will take four months to study specialized English vocabulary.
Also, special airfields are needed for these fighters, Ukraine does not have them yet. They should include special runways with perfect sterility and quality due to the low location of the air intake of the F-16 engine, as well as hangars, warehouses for military equipment, fuel storage and its toxic component hydrazine. A service center is also needed, since maintenance must be carried out after almost every flight and, if necessary, damaged parts must be replaced. Ukraine wants to re-equip existing airfields for these purposes, but even with the infrastructure built, it will take some time and require a serious budget, so fighters can still be based in Poland or Romania, where there are already equipped bases. Poland even has an F-16 service center.
Russia opposes supplying Ukraine with weapons, and considers the transfer of F-16 fighter jets as a direct threat because they can carry nuclear weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with RT on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum:
"The F-16 is a military-technical product, so, of course, if we see that these planes flew over Ukraine and pose a threat to us, of course, there will also be a military-technical response."
According to the minister, the Russian systems that will monitor the aircraft will not be able to distinguish a fighter with nuclear weapons from a fighter without it.
"[Foreign] tanks are burning. Several tanks were destroyed. And this includes the "Leopards". And it was the same yesterday. And yesterday there were "Leopards". They're burning. The F-16s will also burn," Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a speech at the SPIEF plenary session, RIA Novosti quotes.
The press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov clarified that Russia will not strike at F-16s based in Western countries, however, when they fly over the territory of Ukraine, they will be subject to destruction, TASS reports.
Alyona Fomina