STOCKHOLM, February 22. /TASS/. Denmark will donate the first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this summer, the Danish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"We are working to make sure that everything goes smoothly this summer when we expect to be able to donate the first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, provided preparations go as planned," Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stressed.

According to the statement, the final timeframe will depend on when Ukrainian pilots complete training to fly the planes. The international coalition seeking to support Ukraine in terms of air forces, which, apart from Denmark, is led by the US and the Netherlands, "is making every effort to create" the necessary conditions, the statement says.

The Berlingske newspaper reported in January, citing the Danish Defense Ministry, that Copenhagen’s donation of the first F-16 jets to Kiev would be delayed by about six months. The initial plan was that the aircraft would be delivered to Ukraine around the New Year. The Defense Ministry explained that the delay was due to Ukraine not yet being prepared to use the aircraft in combat. Six Ukrainian pilots are undergoing F-16 training in Denmark. In late August, the Netherlands announced its willingness to donate 42 US-made F-16 jets to Ukraine, and Denmark promised to send 19 such planes to Kiev. The US authorities approved the move. Kiev expressed hope that Ukraine would receive the aircraft in the first half of 2024. However, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that this would happen no earlier than in the spring.