Oleksii Reznikov (Photo: EPA)

After discussions at the 13th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein format), Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced that Western allies have agreed to start training Ukrainian military on F-16 fighter jets. Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a joint press conference, Reznikov welcomed the support and training as Ukraine continues to battle Russian aggression.

"Today I heard very important news about the so-called 'bird coalition' or 'fighter coalition'. We have received commitments from our partners that training will begin and that we will build together the design of this fighter consortium, starting with the F-16," he said.

According to the minister, the training process will be led by Denmark and the Netherlands, and later other countries should join.

He expressed confidence that there will be a "bird coalition" in Ukraine, as it already has a "tank coalition", "anti-aircraft coalition", "artillery family", "MLRS family", etc.

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This means that the future forces of Ukraine will remain the eastern shield of Europe and the eastern shield of NATO, Reznikov concluded.

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On May 26, Bloomberg reported that the Netherlands could send F-16s to Ukraine after pilot training.

The Ministry of Defense stated that Ukraine needs four squadrons (48 units) of F-16 multipurpose fighters to defeat the Russian invaders.

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On June 1, the F-16 coalition held talks in Moldova on training, supplies and infrastructure for the aircraft.

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