Denmark Will Send F-16 Fighter Jets To Ukraine This Summer, Defense Minister Poulsen: Support Determines War Results

President Zelensky stood in front of the F-16 fighter jet during a visit to Denmark. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the Scandinavian country could deliver Ukraine's first F-16 fighter jet this summer.

Defense Minister Poulsen said the shipment could be made in the coming months, "if preparations go according to plan" for pilot training and infrastructure development.

"The war in Ukraine has entered its third year, and continued military support for Ukraine has determined the outcome of the war," Defense Minister Poulsen said, quoted by Politico on February 23.

Poulsen's comments came as Copenhagen approved an additional 228 million euros military aid package for Ukraine.

The package includes 15,000 artillery shells paid by Denmark and purchased through the Czech Republic, which will be delivered "in a few months" to Ukraine, according to the defense ministry, including mine clearing equipment, drones, radar, and communications equipment.

Good news for Kyiv comes after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the Munich Security Conference he would guarantee Ukraine all his country's artillery armaments, as well as days after Sweden announced another round of donations.

Citing Kyiv Independent, Denmark has pledged to ship 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine, with the first batch of six aircraft expected to be delivered in the spring of 2024 and the rest by 2025.

Separately, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on television he could neither confirm nor deny a June warplane delivery schedule.

Ukraine itself has received Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland and Slovakia, but is trying hard to develop more sophisticated aircraft for months, until Washington allows the delivery of F-16 jets in August 2023.

Ihnat previously said Ukraine needed 128 modern fighter jets to fully replace the old fleet of aircraft. The F-16 aircraft will provide Ukrainian troops with the much-needed air superiority in the occupied territories, according to Ihnat.

It is known that other countries that promise fighter jets made by the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon to Ukraine are the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium, although the exact number and schedule of shipments is still unclear.