Ollongren is happy with the support for training Ukrainians, she says on Twitter. The Netherlands will lead these training sessions together with Denmark. There has long been talk of F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots. The precise details are still being discussed in the contact group, said Ollongren’s American colleague Lloyd Austin earlier.
A spokesperson for Ollongren says that the agreements have not yet been finalized. Even the decision to start the training sessions would not be final yet, although that is emphatically the intention.
An important breakthrough was achieved this week, when the United States granted permission for the training sessions. This decision does not mean that aircraft will also be delivered, the countries involved always emphasize. No decision had yet been taken on that. The top general in the US armed forces, Mark Milley, says that the F-16s will not be a “magic weapon” in Ukraine’s fight against the Russian occupier.
The US has urged Ukraine not to use US weaponry to attack Russia, Milley says. However, according to him, it cannot be ruled out that this happened. Russia claims that pro-Ukrainian militias have used US armored vehicles for attacks on Russian soil.