Denmark to stop training Ukrainian F-16 pilots after 2024

21:01, 24.06.2024 1 min read

Denmark will stop training Ukrainian F-16 pilots by the end of the year, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Monday at a press conference with Norway's Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, according to DR.

"We cannot continue training for Ukrainian pilots after 2024," Poulsen was quoted as saying.

The minister explained this by the fact that Denmark is passing to F-35 fighter jets, for which the capacity in Skrydstrup air base, where Ukrainian pilots are receiving training, will be used.

Also, according to Poulsen, around 20 Ukrainian F-16 pilots will have been trained on Danish soil by the end of 2024.

Denmark will still be able to contribute to the training of Ukrainian pilots, but this will take place elsewhere than in Denmark.

"Today, Ukrainian pilots are also being trained in Romania, but the decision has not yet been made on whether and how Denmark will contribute there," the minister said.