The Hague, Aug 20 (EFE).- The interim Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, confirmed on Sunday that his country, along with Denmark, will send F-16 fighters to Ukraine “as soon as possible” once the military training of Ukrainian pilots is completed.
Rutte, addressing a joint press conference in the Netherlands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that it is “crucial that pilots be trained” and the necessary infrastructure for the F-16 is prepared.
He further stressed that these planes would not help immediately in the war, but were part of the Netherlands’ long-term commitment to Kyiv.
Rutte said the Netherlands now has a total of 42 F-16 fighters in stock and would need some of them to help Denmark with pilot training, hence one could say for certain how many of them would be delivered to Kyiv.
Zelenskyy, on his part, welcomed the move by The Netherlands and said the number of fighters to be delivered would be discussed once the military training of Ukrainian pilots and technical personnel began.
He recalled that they were fighting a formidable Russian Federation, which had failed so far in defeating Ukraine and Kyiv was now in the counteroffensive, in which the new planes would help their cause.
Zelenskyy underlined that Ukraine was looking for peace, with the total recovery of its territories, but warned that they would not forget the tragedies his people had suffered and that they would seek justice in the courts.
The Ukrainian president landed on Sunday in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, days after the United States promised to expedite the approvals needed to secure the shipment of F-16 to Ukraine.
This is Zelenskyy’s second visit to the Netherlands since the Russian war in Ukraine began in February last year. EFE
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