Norway boosts Ukrainian air power with F‑16 fighter donation
Norway has announced that it will send six F-16 fighters to Ukraine "in the near future," Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Thursday.
1:14 PM EDT, October 17, 2024
Minister Umerov disclosed the decision after meeting with Norwegian Defense Minister Bjoern Arild Gram. The two leaders spoke during the NATO-Ukraine Council in Brussels.
F-16s in Ukraine
The Norwegian government made the decision to transfer the fighters in July. The first planes are expected to arrive in Ukraine in 2024.
Ukraine may attack targets in Russia using them
At the end of June, the Dutch Defense Minister announced that the country would grant Ukraine permission to use the F-16 fighters it transferred to attack targets on Russian territory.
"We only ask them to comply to international law and the right to self-defense as stated in the U.N. Charter, which means they use it to target the military goals they need to target in their self-defense," said Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch Minister of Defense, at that time.
On July 31, the first F-16s arrived in Ukraine. The number of aircraft delivered in the initial batch has not been disclosed by Kyiv authorities. A coalition of countries, including Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium, has committed to delivering approximately 60 fighters.
