Zelensky, Rutte discuss meeting in Jeddah, situation at front and strengthening of air defense

Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte said this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

"Today I spoke again with President Zelensky and I congratulated him on the successful meeting in Saudi Arabia on the war, where the Netherlands was represented. It’s important to continue talking about peace in Ukraine with this broad group of countries," Rutte emphasized.

According to Prime Minister, the two leaders also discussed developments at the frontline and "the unrelenting, random and brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets and food stocks".

"I underscored that the Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine, and that in particular we’re now looking into what else we can do to strengthen Ukrainian air defences. One way we are helping is by working with our partners to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s," Rutte wrote.

As reported, at the NATO summit in Vilnius, the allies announced the creation of an aviation coalition. The Netherlands, Denmark, and Romania have officially confirmed that they will train Ukrainian pilots.

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the training of Ukrainian pilots to operate American F-16 fighters will begin in August and will take at least six months.

Photo: Office of President