MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2023) Western countries have agreed on a coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday.
On June 14, the Financial Times reported, citing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, that the allies were to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets this summer.
"It's official: a coalition for F-16 training of the Ukrainian Air Force has been formed! Today, 11 partner states + Ukraine signed a Memorandum outlining the terms," Reznikov wrote on Tweeter.
He added that the coalition will consider granting Ukraine "fully functional F-16 capabilities." Other types of aircraft may be included in the training program, Reznikov added.
In his other tweet, Reznikov stated that Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the UK formed the coalition.
On Tuesday, the Polish Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter that it was opening access to its F-16 training courses and facilities to Ukrainian pilots. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said this initiative "is one more proof of our (Poland's) determination to support Ukraine."
