Inna Andalitskaya19:59, 05/19/23

The Ukrainian president plans to discuss the practical implementation of this decision during the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the US decision to support an international “fighter coalition”.

He tweeted about it . “I welcome the historic decisions of the United States and President Joe Biden to support the international fighter coalition. This will significantly strengthen our army in the sky. I look forward to discussing the practical implementation of this decision during the G7 summit in Hiroshima,” the head of state said.

F-16 for Ukraine

Today, May 19, US President Joe Biden announced that the United States will support the training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16.

The exercise is likely to take place in Europe, according to a senior administration official, but American personnel will also participate. This is expected to take several months.

“As the exercise takes place in the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide aircraft, how many we will provide, and who will provide them,” the official said.

Ukraine has long been calling on its allies to hand over modern fighter jets to counter the Russian army, protect the skies and counter-offensive operations. 

Yesterday, the NATO Secretary General said that the issue of possible deliveries of fighters will be discussed already in June at a meeting of defense ministers of the Alliance member countries.

Earlier, the UK and the Netherlands agreed to create a “coalition of fighters” for Ukraine. France also joined them. 

French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed his readiness to train Ukrainian pilots, noting that it could begin “already now.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda noted that although Poland cannot transfer F-16 aircraft to Ukraine due to their small number, it is ready to provide more MiG-29 aircraft.

(C)UNIAN 2023