Burc Eruygur
12 June 2023•Update: 12 June 2023
ISTANBUL
Ukraine said early Monday that the "fighter jet coalition" led by Western countries in support of Kyiv will be discussed during an upcoming Ramstein format meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
“During the meeting, we will discuss the details of the ‘aircraft coalition’. In this case, we are talking about the training of pilots and not only pilots but also our technicians and engineers who will deal with aircraft maintenance. Because this is a very complex system,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said, according to a statement by the ministry on Telegram.
Reznikov said that the issue will be discussed with the teams of the defense ministries of the Netherlands, Denmark, the US, and other countries that have joined the coalition, adding that he included representatives of the Air Force in the Ukrainian delegation.
He also said issues related to the provision of air defense systems, ammunition, and artillery will also be discussed during the meeting.
“Our priorities have not changed. This war is a war of resources. Resources mean not only weapons but also the ability to repair and maintain them and everything related to this,” he said, adding opening various types of hubs for repairing equipment is an important issue.
The Western nations continue to support Ukraine with military and financial aid since the war began last year on Feb. 24. So far, they have been reluctant to send fighter jets to Kyiv.
However, Denmark and the Netherlands are playing a lead role among the Western countries, training the Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, tweeted US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on May 25.
The US Defense Department announced last Tuesday that an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is scheduled to take place at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels on June 15.
