Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in the Netherlands yesterday aiming to bolster his country’s air power, a day after a “heinous” Russian missile strike killed seven people and wounded 148 in Chernihiv.
The US on Friday approved the transfer to Ukraine of Dutch and Danish US-made F-16 fighter jets, a key demand by Kyiv as it seeks greater firepower from allies.
Zelenskiy’s flight landed at a Dutch air force base in Eindhoven at about midday, a Dutch government spokesperson said, although details of the delivery of aircraft to Ukraine have not been unveiled.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Together with the First Lady and the team, we arrived in the Netherlands. As always, we will have substantive talks with [Dutch] Prime Minister Mark Rutte,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram in English.
“The main issue is F-16 for Ukraine to protect our people from Russian terror. We are getting stronger,” he wrote.
The Netherlands and Denmark are leading a plan to train Ukrainian pilots on using the US-made aircraft as part of an 11-nation coalition, with training potentially complete by early 2024.
Washington has strict rules on the sale or transfer of US military equipment by its allies.
Zelenskiy vowed “a tangible answer” to Saturday’s attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, which came during the Orthodox holiday of the Transfiguration of the Lord as some attended morning church services.
Vyacheslav Chaus, governor of the Chernihiv region, said that seven people had died and 148 had been injured in an update yesterday.
Denise Brown, UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said it was “heinous to attack the main square of a large city, in the morning, while people are out walking, some going to church to celebrate a religious day for many Ukrainians.”
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