Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he has informed Vladimir Zelensky of the authorities’ decision to prepare the first 18 US F-16 fighter jets for delivery to Ukraine.
“The delivery of F-16s is one of the most important elements of the agreements on military support for Ukraine,” he wrote on social network X (Twitter).
Rutte added that in addition to the export authorisation, a number of other criteria must be met for final approval of the delivery, including personnel and infrastructure requirements.
Earlier, the speaker of the AFU Air Force command, Yuriy Ignat, said that F-16s may not help in the fight against ballistic missiles.