Norway donating F-16s to Ukraine to allow deeper strikes into Russian territory

That’s according to Norway’s Foreign Minister, Esper Barth Eide, who spoke at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on April 15, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“I also belong to those countries in Europe. I think that Ukraine also need to be able to strengthen its capability to strike behind enemy lines which is one of the reasons we are happy to be contributing to this F -16 fighter jet program where we will donate Norwegian F -16s which are in upgraded and in good shape together with Danish and Dutch,” said the top diplomat.

He noted that the training for Ukrainian war pilots is underway and that other contributions could be made toward Ukraine’s capabilities to strike deeper behind enemy lines, which the minister believes are “imperative” for Ukraine.

The minister added that the F-16 is an advanced technological platform dependent on the weapons it is equipped with so a significant contribution would be to make sure that these planes are in a “top-upgraded, modern condition, even if it's an old airframe”.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Ilya Yevlash, the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets is already at the final stage.