| NORDIC.info

So the question of delivering combat aircraft to Ukraine is now entering into force. According to media reports, just a day after the end of Volodymyr Zelensky’s flying visit to several European countries, Great Britain and the Netherlands are jointly signaling that the time has come for the F-16s.

The heads of the two governments, Rishi Sunak (Britain) and Mark Rutte (Netherlands), apparently agreed on Tuesday that they want to form the head of an “international coalition” to buy the fighter jets that Kiev has been demanding for months.

A British government spokesman said Sunak and Root would now work together to form such an alliance. The goal is to support Ukraine, from training pilots to buying planes. The complete package.

In addition, “the prime minister reiterated his belief that Ukraine has its rightful place in NATO. The two leaders agreed on the importance of providing long-term security assistance to Ukraine so that it can fend off any future attacks.”

Zelensky hoped to make “very important” decisions on the issue of combat aircraft

Tuesday’s statement came hours after the Ukrainian president hinted that Kiev may soon receive F-16 fighter jets as well. He hopes to make “very important” decisions on the issue with the UK’s help.

The day before, Zelensky and Sunak had met in an unannounced one-on-one meeting at the prime minister’s country house. So not only is it possible, but it is clear that the head of the British government has already sent concrete signals.

After that, Selinsky said, somewhat vaguely, that the issue of combat aircraft was also discussed. “And I think you will hear some very important decisions in the near future, but we still have a little work to do,” the Ukrainian president said.

On the other hand, at the meeting, the British side bluntly promised to deliver “hundreds of combat drones.” From Kiev’s point of view, the president’s European tour could have been worse. Berlin also promised in the past to provide significant military support.

When it comes to the question of combat aircraft for Ukraine, the pressure on Western partners is clearly coming from Great Britain; And it was months ago. Already in February, 10 Downing Street announced that it wanted to start training Ukrainian pilots as soon as possible. So at a time when the debate was still mainly about battle tanks.

Nothing so far indicates “yes” from the US – quite the contrary

Since Tuesday, it has become clear that the Netherlands is the first ally on board to enable Ukraine to build a new air force with F-16s to NATO standards. That’s how he writes it Guardiansthough a formal commitment from Rutte was still pending on Tuesday.

In any case, there is a catch: the United States will have to be persuaded if Ukraine is going to receive the F-16s. And here in Washington, people are still very mum about it, as John Kirby, the White House security spokesman, recently pointed out.

When asked if the US government had changed its position on extradition, Kirby answered with one word: “No!” But what does that mean these days?

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