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The Dutch government confirms the delivery of the F16 to Ukraine during Zelensky’s second visit to the Netherlands

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, visited the Netherlands on Sunday, where he received personal confirmation that the Dutch government would send him F-16 fighter jets. This is Zelensky’s second trip to the country, and although the number of devices that will be sent is not clear, Mark Rutte, the outgoing prime minister, indicated that the military training phase would begin “as soon as possible.”

The Netherlands has 42 F-16s, according to Rutte, who added: “These are private jets that require enough infrastructure to take off and land in Ukraine in order to be operational, and we still don’t know how many we will be able to send.” “It won’t be right away, but we hope that the stage of training in the language that needs to be used to deal with it, and then the military part, will come as quickly as possible.”

The Dutch armed forces are already preparing for their transition from the F-16 to the more modern F-35, according to Defense Ministry sources. Thus, they could have several of their own fighters for Ukrainian needs. The United States on Friday gave the go-ahead to deliver the type of aircraft — from Denmark and the Netherlands — once training of Ukrainian pilots is completed.

On Sunday Zekenski arrived at the Dutch air base in Eindhoven after repeatedly ordering the F-16s. The approach of winter could complicate the Ukrainian counter-offensive to counter Russian aggression, which is why Zelensky stresses the need to have the planes soon.

Choosing Eindhoven as the setting for his second Holland trip is highly symbolic. The remains of 298 victims of Flight MH17, which was shot down in July 2014 over Ukrainian territory by a Russian-made missile, landed here. In February 2023, the Joint International Team (JIT) investigating the shooting concluded that there were “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin had authorized the deployment of the shuttle used by pro-Russian separatists. The missile.