Greece will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters

Greece will train Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 fighters. This was announced by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who flew to Athens on August 21 for a visit. After the first day of negotiations, he spoke to journalists together with the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

As Zelensky said, during the negotiations with the Greek leadership, he will discuss the situation on the battlefield and joint opportunities to restore both the territorial integrity of Ukraine and global security. He reported that he had already discussed the defense needs of Ukraine and the country’s possible assistance with the Prime Minister of Greece.

On Monday evening, Zelensky will also meet with the leaders of other countries of the Western Balkans, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Head of the European Council, Charles Michel.

• Ukraine has been asking Western countries for effective military aircraft since the very beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Only on August 20 of this year, Zelensky announced that he had reached agreements with European countries. According to him, the Netherlands and Denmark will hand over F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv after Ukrainian pilots and aircraft mechanics are trained in their operation and maintenance. The Netherlands is ready to hand over 42 fighters in stages, Denmark – 19. The exact dates of the delivery of the aircraft have not yet been determined.