Netherlands' Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly alongside an aircraft simulating aerial interceptions during a media day illustrating how NATO Air Policing safeguards the Allies' airspace in the northern and northeastern region of the Alliance, July 4, 2023. Reznikov said in a TV interview that six months of training was considered the minimum for pilots, but it was not yet known how long it would take to train engineers and mechanics. Ukraine wants the sophisticated U.S.-made warplanes so it can counter the air superiority of Russia, whose forces invaded the country in February 2022. A U.S. official said on Thursday that Washington had approved sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russia as soon as pilot training was completed. The training included technical language training, as the usual basic English level was insufficient, he said.

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Persons: de, Oleksiy Reznikov, Reznikov, Andriana Kucher, Nick Starkov, Elaine Monaghan, Grant McCool Organizations: Air Force, Air, Alliance, REUTERS, Rights, Training, Defence, U.S, Kanal, YouTube, Washington, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, Ukraine, Denmark, Russia, Kyiv, Washington