Dutch defense chief "sure" Ukraine to receive F-16s before year-end

The Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kajsa Ollongren, said Ukraine could receive F-16 already this year.

The minister touched on the issue during a doorstep ahead of the EU defense ministerial in Brussels on January 31, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We are really working hard on that, the Ukrainians are really working hard on that. It will happen this year, I’m sure about that,” Ollongren said, adding that she cannot name the “specific time and date” for F-16 deliveries at the moment.

Read also: More needs to be done before Ukraine deploys F-16s - Air Force spox

The first group of Ukrainian pilots has completed the basic training program in Great Britain.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Dutch government decided to allocate EUR 122 million for Ukraine – on ammunition, weapons systems, and cyber security.

Photo: Beeld Phil Nijhuis