NATO Secretary General: Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 has already begun

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters had already begun.

He told this to journalists at a briefing before the start of the Ramstein meeting.

"It is already clear that the training has started and this provides us with the option to also decide to deliver planes and then the pilots will be ready to fly them," Stoltenberg said.

The NATO Secretary General thanked Denmark for its important role in the aviation coalition and for preparing the training program for pilots.

"This shows that Denmark is a country that has really played an important role and continues to play an important role in providing significant support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg added.

As a reminder, after the previous Ramstein meeting on May 25, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that Denmark and the Netherlands would lead a coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. Norway, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland also offer to contribute to the training. 

On May 22, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, also reported that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s had already begun.

On May 19, Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed US President Joe Biden's decision to approve training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.

At the G7 summit, the countries that support Ukraine with weapons reached an agreement in principle to provide Ukraine with F-16s. 

Following the summit, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s would begin this summer.

UPD. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat denied the statement that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters had begun.