Dutch F16 fighters arrived in Ukraine/Kiev’s hand was opened in the sky
reported by Mehr News Agency quoted by Rashatoudi, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Berklemans confirmed that the first shipment of F-16 fighter jets that the country promised to Ukraine was delivered to Kiev.
Berklemans, who has traveled to Kiev and Kharkiv, revealed new details of the Dutch military aid to Ukraine during this meeting. The Netherlands, which is one of the members of the so-called “F-16 Alliance”, granted 24 American-made F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force more than a year ago, but the timetable for its delivery was not specified.
The Minister of Defense of the Netherlands wrote on the “X” social network: For the first time, I can officially announce that the first shipment of Dutch F-16 fighters was delivered to Ukraine. Amsterdam will also invest 400 million euros ($439 million) in the development of advanced drones for the Ukrainian army.
Berklemans also emphasized the importance of drones in contemporary warfare and noted that the development of drone systems is moving at lightning speed. We have no time to waste.
According to him, about half of this money will be distributed in the Netherlands and the rest between Ukraine and other countries. Officials in Kiev have emphasized that F-16 fighters are necessary to match Russia’s capabilities and counter air attacks of this country. Ukraine has also complained about the speed of training its pilots in the United States. In August, Kiev lost the first F-16 fighter that was granted to this country during a combat mission!
The Netherlands has provided more than 3.76 billion euros in military aid to Kyiv since the start of the Ukrainian war in February 2022. Earlier this year, Amsterdam announced that it would assemble a Patriot air defense system for Ukraine. Moscow has always warned about military aid to Ukraine and emphasized that this action will only prolong the war and will not change its final outcome.
