Eindhoven (Netherlands), Aug 20: The Netherlands and Denmark announced Sunday they will give F-16 warplanes to Ukraine, a long-awaited announcement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an important motivation for his country’s forces, embroiled in a difficult counteroffensive against Russia.
The promise of new fighter jets came the day after an unusually brazen Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian theater that killed seven people and wounded almost 150 others in the northern city of Chernihiv. Zelenskyy vowed stern retaliation for the attack, whose victims included a slain 6-year-old girl dead and 15 wounded children.
After months of entreaties from Zelenskyy for F-16s to bolster the Ukrainian air force, the U.S. recently gave approval for the Netherlands and Denmark to provide Ukraine the American-made jets. Zelenskyy travelled to both countries Sunday to finalize the delivery deals.
”F-16s will certainly give new energy, confidence, and motivation to fighters and civilians. I’m sure it will deliver new results for Ukraine and the entire Europe,? the Ukrainian leader said.
Ukraine hopes the jets give it a combat edge, after launching a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery. It’s not clear yet how soon the jets will be in Ukrainian hands or in Ukrainian skies.
It depends on how soon Ukrainian crews and infrastructure are ready, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said after he and Zelenskyy inspected two gray F-16 jets. (AP)
