During the US-led military bloc’s meeting in Washington, Norway committed to providing six fighter jets to Kiev.
Norway has promised to donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This commitment was made during a NATO summit in Washington, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday, citing the Norwegian government.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store reportedly stated that the jets will be delivered as early as this year.
In August of last year, Store, during a visit to Kiev, said that Ukraine would receive Norwegian F-16 fighters. However, at that time, he did not provide details about the number of aircraft or their delivery schedule.
The US, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands have pledged to provide the Ukrainian military with over 60 F-16 fighter jets by the end of the current year. Several members of the US-led military bloc have also promised to train Ukrainian pilots.
Last month, Mikhail Podoliak, Ukraine’s top advisor to President Zelensky, said that Ukraine requires at least 60 Western fighter jets to hold back Russian advances. Ukrainian officials are hoping that the advanced jets can help to counter Russia’s dominant air superiority across the front lines.
The Russian government has viewed these promised deliveries as an escalation and a potential nuclear risk. They have warned that F-16s are capable of deploying American B61 nuclear gravity bombs. Some of these weapons are stored in Europe as part of NATO’s nuclear-sharing program.