NATO state to donate F-16s to Ukraine
Norway has pledged to donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing the Norwegian government.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told leaders of NATO countries gathered in Washington for the bloc’s 75th summit that delivery of the jets will start as soon as this year.
Last August, during a visit to Kiev, Store announced that Ukraine would receive Norwegian F-16 fighters, though he did not provide details on the number of aircraft or timing of their delivery.
The US, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Netherlands have pledged to provide the Ukrainian military with upwards of 60 F-16 fighter jets by the end of the current year. Several members of the US-led military bloc have also vowed to provide training to Ukrainian pilots.
Last month, Vladimir Zelensky’s most senior adviser, Mikhail Podoliak, said that Ukraine needed at least 60 Western fighter jets to hold back Russian advances. Officials in Kiev are hoping that the advanced jets can help counter Russia’s overwhelming air superiority across the front.
The Russian government has treated the promised deliveries as escalatory and a potential nuclear risk, warning that F-16s are capable of deploying American B61 nuclear gravity bombs. Some of those weapons are kept in Europe as part of NATO’s nuclear-sharing program.
