EU nation backtracks on Ukraine F-16s promise

Belgium will only be able to deliver F-16s to Ukraine “in the years to come,” Defense Minister Theo Francken has said, after his country initially promised to provide Kiev with jets last year. Brussels must first receive its own delivery of F-35s from the US, Francken stated.

Belgium – along with fellow NATO members Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway – pledged in 2023 to arm Kiev with up to 80 F-16s after receiving permission to do so from the administration of then-US President Joe Biden. Last year, Ukraine received about 20 of the aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands.

Speaking at an event organized by the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington on Tuesday, Francken claimed Belgium was Kiev’s “biggest supporter on the air domain,” despite his country not yet providing Ukraine with any planes.