According to Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder, Belgium will hand over several of its F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv in 2025 and will offer maintenance of the fleet. Belgium will also continue training Ukrainian pilots.
Ludivine Dedonder made the statement ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels. Earlier, Zelensky visited Romania, where he agreed to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighters.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in mid-July that any delivery of F-16 fighter jets would further escalate the conflict in Ukraine, as the aircraft have been modified to possess nuclear weapons and therefore pose a direct threat to Russia.
In August, the Netherlands and Denmark announced that they would give Ukraine more than 60 F-16 fighter jets after they completed training Ukrainian pilots to fly them. Norway has also pledged to provide F-16s.
