The defense ministers of 11 NATO countries, including Portugal, signed the declaration on Tuesday creating a coalition to train Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots and technicians.
This political declaration was signed by Portugal, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom, who “share the conviction that continued support for Ukraine is of the utmost importance” of face of Russian aggression.
“The parties agree that, in order to assist Ukraine in the defense of its airspace, they will establish a joint training coalition of the Ukrainian Air Force for the operation and maintenance of F-16 fighter aircraft, in accordance with the necessary authorizations and the possibility of including other types of combat aircraft at a later stage,” read the statement to which the Lusa news agency had access.
All the training will be carried out outside the territory of Ukraine, establishes the declaration that was signed this Tuesday at the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and in which the Minister of National Defense, Helena Carreiras, participated.
The parties agreed to begin training Ukrainian pilots, technicians, and support personnel, who will provide the Ukrainian Air Force with the basic capabilities to operate and maintain F-16 aircraft, including providing “equipment, instructors, and other relevant personnel for said training.
“The coalition will focus on training, but will also, in due course, be prepared to consider other lines of support to ensure Ukraine has a fully functional F-16 capability,” the statement added.
The Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, arrived this Tuesday afternoon at LITEXPO, where the summit is taking place, and when asked about Ukraine’s intentions, he was concise: “The objective is accession.”
Without answering further questions, the minister limited himself to saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would address the country’s discontent with representatives of the 31 NATO countries.
Zelensky said on his way to the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday that it is absurd for the Atlantic Alliance not to give an invitation date for Ukraine to join.
The joint effort to train F-16 pilots is being coordinated by the Netherlands and Denmark.
Two weeks ago, Zelensky criticized the delay in the training of the pilots, at a time when the Ukrainian counter-offensive had already begun and that it was facing difficulties in advancing on the ground due to the defense lines that the Russian troops had established.
Source: TSF
