Romania and Netherlands agree to establish training center for Ukrainian F-16 pilots

Romanian and Dutch allies have made final steps to establish a training base for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, says Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.

Romania pledges to provide the maintenance for these aircraft at one of the training centers.

The Netherlands and Romania signed a letter of intent yesterday to provide training and maintenance for F-16s at a training center in Romania. This is a specific step toward strengthening Ukraine's air defense from two European countries and, undoubtedly, from all European countries participating in the F-16 coalition, said Ollongren.

She noted that EU members will also discuss ways to strengthen defense and joint work within the EU Strategic Compass framework, which states agreed upon more than a year ago.

Ukraine's allies have formed an aviation coalition to provide the country with modern fighter jets, including F-16s. The state will receive at least 61 aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands.

Denmark has already started training 8 Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, and the United States will begin training in the near future.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov says Ukraine may receive the first F-16 aircraft no sooner than 6-7 months from now.