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Eight Ukrainian pilots begin to be instructed in flying F-16 in Denmark

It is reported that in the coming months they will be trained in basic skills of the piloting and maintenance of the combat aircraft

STOCKHOLM, August 22. /TASS/. The Danish Armed Forces have started training Ukrainian pilots and personnel to use F-16 fighter jets, the Defense Ministry has said. Seventy-three Ukrainians have already arrived at the Skrydstrup air base in southern Jutland; eight of them are pilots and the others are technicians and support personnel.

In the coming months they will be trained in basic skills of the piloting and maintenance of F-16 combat aircraft, the news release says.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced what he described as a "breakthrough agreement" with the Netherlands on the issue of supplying 42 F-16 fighter jets. Denmark said it was ready to provide 19 F-16 fighter jets to Kiev. The first 6 combat aircraft are expected in Ukraine before next year. The Danish Air Force has about 30 fighter jets that will be decommissioned when the country starts using F-35 planes. The Dutch Air Force has 42 such aircraft.

Denmark and the Netherlands have also announced the training of Ukrainian pilots, with nine other countries (Belgium, Britain, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden) assisting them. In July, acting Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that the training would start in August in Skrydstrup. It will last an estimated six months.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Denmark

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