“The United States is responsible for bringing the Ukrainian crisis to the brink of global nuclear war by providing F-16 fighter jets to Zelensky’s puppet regime,” North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency. .
The regime in Pyongyang has condemned Washington for supplying Ukraine with weapons, including cluster bombs.
The DPRK’s defense minister said “the United States has no legal or moral justification to criticize normal cooperation between sovereign nations in the field of defense.” “He expressed full support and solidarity in the struggle for justice to protect the sovereign rights of the Russian people,” Reuters reported.
Two NATO countries to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
Denmark and the Netherlands announced on Sunday that they would hand over F-16s to Ukraine. The first six machines are expected to be delivered in the New Year. A total of 19 fighter jets are to be handed over to Denmark. The Netherlands has a total of 42 F-16s, but it has not yet been decided whether all of them will go to Ukraine.
Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine could only use F-16s over its territory. – We hand over weapons on the condition that they will be used to drive the enemy out of Ukrainian territory. And no more,” he insisted. “These are the conditions for tanks or fighter jets or whatever,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Western aircraft would strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses and help counterattack against Russian forces.
Last week, the US approved sending F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine after pilot training. This was stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a letter to his Danish and Dutch counterparts.
According to unofficial information, F-16 fighter jets will also be delivered by Norway to Ukraine.
OSW: The aircraft does not have much effect on the situation in front
The Center for Eastern Studies points out that the announcement to hand over Western-made multi-role fighters to Ukraine is “another self-limiting retreat by the West”, while the number and delivery schedule of the machines is “nothing short of immediate or major impact on the battlefield”.
According to the OSW, Ukraine defines its aviation needs as 10 multi-role aircraft (a total of 120 machines), while the number of fighters announced by the Allies so far is only two squadrons by the end of 2024.
As experts emphasize, a challenge for Kiev will also be to maintain F-16 fighters in working order, especially “Dutch and Danish machines are old and worn out, and their technical level is different.”
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