Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Denmark this Sunday after touring the Netherlands, where he welcomed the “historic” decision by the two countries to deliver American F-16 fighter jets to Kiev, following a green light from the United States. .
Volodymyr Zelensky landed at around 4:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. in Lisbon) at a Danish air base in Skrydstrup (east), two journalists from the France-Presse agency discovered.
Denmark and the Netherlands have pledged to deliver F-16s to Kiev once the Ukrainian pilots have completed their training.
The Ukrainian president was received by the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and by the Minister of Defense, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen.
During this visit, they should examine the F-16 fighter jets and take stock of the start of pilot training, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“I am proud of the visit of President Zelensky and the First Lady to Denmark,” Mette Frederiksen said in a statement released just before the landing.
“Denmark fully supports Ukraine and is ready to do so for as long as it takes,” he added.
A few hours earlier, the Ukrainian leader landed at a Dutch air base, in Eindhoven, for a surprise visit, where Prime Minister Mark Rutte formalized the agreement for the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Rutte said the Netherlands currently has 42 such aircraft, but needs to talk to its international partners before deciding on the exact number to be made available to Kiev.
“Prime Minister Mark Rutte and I have agreed on the number of F-16s that will be transferred to Ukraine once our pilots and engineers have completed their training: 42 jets, and this is just the beginning,” he said. message on his account on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
The Ukrainian head of state landed in the Netherlands around noon, a day after the deadly attack by Moscow troops in the heart of Chernihiv, northern Ukraine.
The day before he was in Sweden, where talks with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson revolved around the preparation of a new Swedish military aid package.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggered the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945), according to United Nations data.
The invasion – justified by President Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – has been condemned by the international community at large, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia. .
Source: DN
