“All Ukrainians are waiting”: Zelensky shares footage of Ukrainian pilots training on F-16 jets

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky shared footage from Ukrainian pilots' training on F-16 fighter jets in Denmark. 

The video is dated February 2024, Rubryka reports, citing Zelensky's social media.

"All Ukrainians are looking forward to the day when the first Ukrainian F-16s will appear in our skies, strengthening the defense of our cities and communities and enhancing the capabilities of our Armed Forces of Ukraine," he said.

Zelensky added that he is "grateful to the F-16 coalition, which is bringing this day closer," while our pilots and personnel continue their training.

What we know about the F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine

The Netherlands and Denmark reached an agreement on August 20 of last year to transfer F-16 jets to Ukraine after Ukrainian pilots finished training.

Ukraine will receive 42 American F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and 19 jets from Denmark.

By the end of September, the Air Force had already released a video showing how Ukrainian pilots were adapting to the F-16 in Ukraine. They were mastering the operation of American F-16 fighter jets using a flight simulator.

According to the US Air Force, a "small number" of Ukrainian pilots began training at the 162nd Aviation Unit of the Arizona National Guard in "F-16 fundamentals" at the end of October.

In November, the first F-16s for training Ukrainian pilots, previously sent by the Netherlands, arrived at the training center in Romania.

On February 5, 2024, the Netherlands decided to transfer six more F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine than initially planned. They will add six aircraft from the planned 18 jets.