Danish ambassador says when F-16s will be in Ukraine

Denmark will transfer F-16 aircraft to Ukraine this summer, as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen promised in February. This was announced by Danish Ambassador to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen in an interview with My Ukraine.

Don't worry. Aircrafts for Ukraine - they will definitely be there, - Ole Egberg Mikkelsen said.

The Danish ambassador emphasised that the fighter jets, as promised by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in February, would be delivered this summer.

Mikkelsen did not name the exact number of F-16s that Ukraine will receive in the summer, but noted that this is the number that the Danish prime minister and President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed upon.

The ambassador clarified that the 24 aircraft that Denmark sold to Argentina were not among those that Denmark should transfer to Ukraine.

This is our entire F-16 fleet, which is now being decommissioned because we are getting a new generation of F-35 aircraft. Some of it will be delivered to Argentina. There's nothing to worry about. The F-16s will be delivered as promised," Mikkelsen said.

When ironically asked by a journalist whether Ukraine will have F-16s this summer, the Danish ambassador confirmed that it will be this summer.

Earlier Denmark sold 24 F-16 fighter jets to Argentina. The Danish Air Force is gradually replacing F-16 fighters with more modern F-35s.

The chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, has commented on Saturday's congressional vote in favor of a bill to allocate 61bn dollars in aid to Ukraine. In particular, this bill provides for the transfer of ATACMS tactical missiles of extended range to Ukraine. Mark Warner told about this on air of the TV channel CBS News on Sunday, April 21.

According to the senator from the Democratic Party, the Ukrainians have shown themselves very well in the war, but high morale alone is not enough to win the war.

We have seen the Ukrainians outdo themselves. If you step back for a moment and think about the fact that for most of my lifetime most of America's defenses have been focused on Russia. Now and in the last two years, with less than 3% of our defense budget, two years in a row, the Ukrainians have destroyed 87% of Russian ground forces, 63% of their tanks, 32% of their armored personnel carriers, without losing a single American soldier, thanks to the courage of the Ukrainians and the equipment they received from us and from our European allies," said Mark Warner.

When asked by a reporter if the Defense Force would receive long-range artillery, Warner answered "Yes" in the affirmative. He said that President Biden's administration was ready to transfer long-range ATACMS missiles during the last months when aid for Ukraine remained blocked in Congress.

In March, Western media wrote that by mid-summer, 12 Ukrainian pilots would be ready to fly combat missions on F-16 fighter jets after 10 months of training in Denmark, the UK and the US.

The first US-made F-16 fighter jets may take to the Ukrainian skies and be used in aerial combat tentatively in June 2024, according to Foreign Policy.

In mid-April, the Dutch authorities sent three more F-16 fighters to the European F-16 Training Centre (EFTC) in Romania, where Ukrainian pilots and ground staff are being trained to pilot and maintain these aircraft.

Already a former representative of the Air Force of the AFU, Yuriy Ignat, in early March, on the air of a telethon, described how the training of Ukrainians on F-16s is taking place. He stated that Ukrainian pilots are already practising tactical techniques, i.e. actually striking targets.

on 27 March 2024, at a briefing in Warsaw, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that according to the plan F-16 fighter jets should appear in the skies of Ukraine already in the summer of 2024.

It is known that Denmark has 44 F-16 fighter jets at its disposal. At the same time, it promised 19 aircraft to Ukraine.

Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have pledged to send about 45 aircraft to Ukraine, which is enough for three small squadrons. However, according to media reports, in January, the Danish Defence Ministry admitted that the first six F-16s would arrive in Ukraine six months later than announced, i.e. in the second quarter of 2024.

In February, Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed a video of Ukrainian pilots training on F-16s in Denmark.

All Ukrainians are waiting for the day when the first Ukrainian F-16s will appear in our skies, when they will strengthen the protection of our cities and communities and the capabilities of our Ukrainian Defence Forces," Zelensky wrote at the time.

He emphasised that while our pilots and personnel continue training, he is grateful to the F-16 coalition that is bringing that day closer.