The Netherlands to transfer 42 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with 42 American-made F-16 fighter jets after Ukrainian pilots complete their training.

Zelensky wrote: “[The Prime Minister of the Netherlands] Mark Rutte and I reached an agreement on the number of F-16s to be transferred to Ukraine once our pilots and engineers have completed their training. 42 jets. And this is just the beginning. Thank you, Netherlands!”

At a joint press conference with Zelensky, Rutte reported that the Netherlands and Denmark would transfer F-16 jets to Ukraine once conditions for the delivery were met. In May, the Netherlands announced that it would train the Ukrainian military how to deploy F-16s. “But everyone understands that it’s impossible to train unless there are jets. In other words, in order to learn how to use the jets, they need to be delivered,” remarked Rutte.

They did not specify when exactly the training would take place and when Ukraine would receive the jets.