NATO ally confirms F-16 to Ukraine as "entire fleet" decommissioned

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The Danish ambassador to Ukraine has said Kyiv will receive F-16 fighter jets from Denmark this summer, as promised.

"Don't worry; there will definitely be airplanes for Ukraine," Ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen said in an interview with Ukrainian news outlet Mi-Ukraina on Sunday.

He added that Denmark's entire fleet of F-16s was being decommissioned, and some would go to Argentina.

Denmark's government plans to donate 19 F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine, the Danish Defense Ministry told Newsweek in January.

Denmark's F-16s will add to a growing fleet of fighter jets already promised to Ukraine by its key allies, with Kyiv hoping to deploy them to the frontlines as early as this year.

Denmark's Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen speaks at a press event at Skrydstrup Air Base in Denmark, on April 16, 2024, on the occasion of the signing ceremony of the contract for the sale of... BO AMSTRUP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

In January 2024, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, confirmed that preparations for the delivery of the batch of jets promised by Denmark were going according to plan. The sentiment was echoed by Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen in February.

Last year several countries alongside Denmark—including the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium—pledged to provide the jets to Ukraine, although the exact timelines for their arrival are subject to change.

And on April 9, another ally, Greece, said it could transfer up to 32 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to Greek media, suggesting that Kyiv could also receive 24 French-made Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets.

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine after the potentially game-changing assistance for Kyiv languished in Congress for months, mired in political infighting.

The news comes as concerns are rising that the current F-16 commitments from partners may be too little, too late for Kyiv.

Earlier this April, an anonymous Ukrainian senior military officer told Politico that "F-16s were needed in 2023; they won't be right for 2024," while experts have told Newsweek that the promised number may be too small to make a strategic difference across the entire front line.

"A single system can't change the situation on the battlefield," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told German newspaper Bild earlier this month. "This isn't a silver bullet that could change the course of the war."

But as Ukraine's artillery shortage intensifies, allowing Russian mechanized forces to ramp up tactical gains, while degraded air defense capabilities permit Russian aviation to penetrate deeper into Ukrainian held territory, F-16s could provide much-needed (if limited) relief.

"Ukrainian officials have highlighted promised F-16 fighter aircraft as a crucial element of a combined air defense system that can intercept more Russian missile and drone strikes and constrain Russian tactical aviation operations," ISW assessed in its April 19 daily update.

Update 4/22/24, 5:46 a.m. ET: This article was updated to add context.

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