European Parliament calls on EU leaders to quickly provide F-16s to Ukraine

Three dozen members of the European Parliament call for the delivery of fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets, on which Ukrainian pilots will begin training in August, to Ukraine as soon as possible.

The European Pravda reports this with reference to a letter published on July 19 by the campaign's initiator, the European Parliament member from the Czech Republic, Tomáš Zdechovský.

"Giving Ukraine these high-tech fighter jets will significantly strengthen its air defense, guarantee better protection of the civilian population and deter further aggression," the text says.

Signatories of the petition ask EU member states to urgently support the accelerated transfer of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets because they are needed to "strengthen the defense and offensive capabilities of Ukraine."

The MEPs also emphasize that without the fighter jets, other military assistance the West has already provided Ukraine "may not reach its full potential."

The letters were signed, in particular, by MEPs Radosław Sikorski and Andrius Kubilius, who have been actively supporting Ukraine for a long time.

The appeal will be sent to EU member states' heads on July 19.

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It should be noted that the issue of providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets was discussed during the meeting of The Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG, also known as the Ramstein group)  in June.

After that, it became known that by July, the partners of Ukraine plan to approve the training program for Ukrainian pilots, engineers, and technicians on F-16 fighter jets; the training will take place in a specially created center in one of the European countries.

Politico says Western F-16 fighter jets may be transferred to Ukraine in early 2024.

What is known about the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters

Britain recently agreed to start training Ukrainian pilots, despite London not having American F-16 fighter jets.

British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons stated that Ukrainian pilots will undergo basic training to transfer and develop their skills in controlling Western aircraft.

Earlier, the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Great Britain agreed to work on forming an international coalition of fighter jets for Ukraine. Denmark joined them.

At the beginning of June, Air Force spokesman Colonel Yuriy Ihnat announced that Kyiv had selected the first groups of Ukrainian pilots for training in Britain.

The "Fighter Coalition" already has eight countries in its membership, and Ukraine is working to expand it.

Allies note that the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine will be possible only after pilot training.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, believes that the delivery of Western aircraft can be expected by the New Year.

Read also – Why does Ukraine need foreign jet fighters?