Ukrainian pilots to start training on F-16 soon – Dutch Foreign Minister

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra has announced that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets will begin "very soon".

Source: Hoekstra during consultations with his EU counterparts in Brussels on 22 May, as reported by European Pravda, citing RTL Nieuws.

Details: This weekend, the United States, which manufactures F-16 fighter jets, approved training for Ukrainians to fly these combat aircraft. The US stated that the pilots would be trained in Europe.

Hoekstra did not say whether the training would take place in the Netherlands. He reported that the Netherlands was joining efforts with Denmark, Norway and Belgium, and the minister did not want to disrupt cooperation with premature announcements.

Hoekstra also did not specify whether Dutch instructors would train Ukrainians and did not specify when the first Ukrainian pilots would be able to start training. However, he stressed that it will happen shortly. "Whenever we made a fundamental decision, we usually resolved operational issues very quickly," the minister said.

This has happened before, for example, in the case of the supply of heavy artillery, Hoekstra added. "And that's right because every hour counts. These preliminary decisions were invariably developed over a long period of time, and preparations for them often took place simultaneously," he said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said a few days ago that the details of the F-16s delivery to Ukraine "will be worked out in the coming weeks".

"Ukraine can continue to count on the unwavering support of the Netherlands and its international partners," Rutte said.

Previously: EU High Representative Josep Borrell said on 22 May that training for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16s has begun.

At the same time, there has been no confirmation of the start of the training from the European countries that are supposed to conduct them.

Last week, the United Kingdom announced the launch of an international coalition of countries aimed at training Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including the F-16s. The coalition already includes the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, the United States and Portugal.

The White House also confirmed that in the coming months, the US and its allies will discuss when and how many modern fighter jets Ukraine will receive.

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