NATO defense ministers to discuss Western aircraft supply to Ukraine in June – Spiegel
Defense ministers of NATO countries will discuss the transfer of Western fighter jets to Ukraine at a meeting in June, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with Spiegel.
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"Some countries, such as Poland and Slovakia, have already delivered combat aircraft, albeit old MiG-29s of Soviet design. We constantly discuss the question of whether modern Western fighters are needed – both within NATO and with Ukraine. I expect that this topic will be discussed at the meeting of NATO defense ministers in June," Stoltenberg stated.
He emphasized that the provision and maintenance of aircraft are no less important than the actual supply of fighters.
"A huge amount of ammunition and spare parts, round-the-clock maintenance is needed," the NATO Secretary General stressed.
Britain, the Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium are ready to train combat pilots of Ukraine.
On May 10, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the allies are not giving Ukraine the F-16 fighters allegedly because of fears that the secret parts of the aircraft could be captured by the Russians.
Germany considers the creation of a coalition of allies with F-16 for the Armed Forces of Ukraine a positive development, but will not participate in it.
