The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands announced the request of Ukraine for the supply of fighter jets

Ukraine sent the Netherlands a request for the supply of F-16 fighters. This was confirmed by the Minister of Defense Kaisa Ollongren, transmits Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation (NOS). But this request is not easy to fulfill, she said.

“We need to discuss F-16 availability with the Americans and other allies,” Ollongren said. “And we have to take the consequences seriously. This cannot happen just like that, overnight. We have to be honest about this.”

The Dutch Defense Minister also stressed that before the Ukrainian military can use fighter jets, they must undergo appropriate training. In addition, the F-16 requires permission from the United States, since they are the country of origin.

At the end of January, adviser to the office of Vladimir Zelensky Mikhail Podolyak on the air of the Dom TV channel declaredthat Kyiv is negotiating with Western countries regarding the transfer of aviation and long-range missiles to the country.

On January 26, Politico, citing its own sources among officials and diplomats, reported that NATO countries were conducting internal discussions about the possibility of supplying fighter jets to Kyiv. According to the negotiators, the debate over the air component could be even more heated than the debate over tanks. At the moment, among the ardent supporters of the idea of ​​sending fighters to Ukraine, the Baltic countries are mentioned. In Washington, according to one of Politico’s sources, they told representatives of Kyiv that sending fighter jets “is not possible at the moment.”

The topic of fighter jets has been raised as part of the conflict since the spring of 2022. Back in March 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky asked to supply his country with F-15 and F-16 fighters.

In October 2022, Slovak Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacher expressed his readiness to supply Kyiv with Soviet MiG-29 fighters, and in January 2023, Dutch Foreign Minister Vopke Hoekstra allowed the delivery of F-16s. On January 16, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Andriy Melnyk proposed that Germany transfer 93 Tornado fighter-bombers to Ukraine, which are planned to be decommissioned. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in turn, announcing the transfer of tanks to Ukraine on January 25, ruled out the possibility of supplying combat aircraft, explaining this by a desire to prevent further military escalation.

A day earlier, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov declaredthat the sending of fighter jets by the UK to Ukraine can only prolong the conflict in the country. He also added that these actions will not change the outcome of the conflict and will not change the trajectory along which “our country is going in terms of achieving its goals set as part of a special military operation.” Thus, the Kremlin spokesman commented on the information about the possible supply of British fighter jets to Ukraine.

On February 8, Reuters, citing British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, reported that the Prime Minister’s office announced plans to expand assistance to the armed forces of Ukraine, including the training of fighter pilots and marines. Training of Ukrainian troops in the UK began on January 30. Then the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Kingdom Alex Chuck announced plans to supply Ukraine with Challenger 2 tanks at the end of March 2023.