UUkraine

US and allies announce F-16 fighter jets are heading to Ukraine

  • July 10, 2024



US and allies announce F-16 fighter jets are heading to Ukraine

Now, the eyes of the world are on Washington, D.C. right now. On the second day of NATO’s 75th anniversary landmark summit. Russia’s war on Ukraine is at the top of the agenda, with the alliance aiming to showcase its ironclad commitment to Kyiv. Earlier, the NATO chief said he expects allies to agree to what he’s calling a substantial package for Ukraine. And US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made this announcement just a short time ago as we speak. The transfer of F-16 jets is underway, coming from Denmark, coming from the Netherlands, and those jets, those jets will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression. Well, Norway has announced that it will send six American made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this year to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia. As we reported, Denmark and the Netherlands are also sending F-16s to Ukraine. Norway is especially sensitive to the conflict in Ukraine, as it is one of a handful of NATO members sharing a border with Russia. Joining us now is Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Buch. Ida, thank you so much for joining us. Foreign Minister, I want to start off with, the F-16s that you’ll be sending, and I want you to give me a sense of the timeline and the delivery of these jets to Ukraine. Thank you very much. First, I have to say, I’m the foreign minister, not the prime minister. But, thank you anyway. And I, so we announced today the donation of, six F-16 fighter jets to, Ukraine. And that is, part of a broader efforts where, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands are also donating F-16s. that means, donating the, their aircraft, but also, teaching pilots and, operators and, maintenance personnel and, and also providing equipment so that this can be, actively used. And we hope that this will, and harness, Ukraine’s, capacity to, you know, to have, better control of their own airspace to defend, themselves in the air, but also to give some, long range capacities, to Ukraine, which are useful, in, in, hitting behind enemy lines, on the battlefield. So I’m going to give me a sense of, of, you know, what the delivery time is. I’m hearing that it could take a few years over the next few years. And if that’s the case, is there a sense that this could be a prolonged war? I guess. Well, I mean, you always need to prepare for this being a prolonged war. Of course, we would, hope to see this, having, you know, a decisive outcome in, Ukraine’s favor soon. but I think it’s wise when you’re, in war or when you’re supporting friends who are in war, that you plan for the long run and you hope for, an earlier outcome. And, of course, even after the war, when, Ukraine has prevailed and, when we collectively show the president Putin that this, type of behavior cannot be accepted in Europe. Ukraine still naturally needs to defend itself. So there’s no shortage in need to build the, Ukraine, defensive capacities. And by, assisting them in moving from sort of a Soviet era Central Coast and into, very modern, equipment also in the air, we supplement, you know, the, the brave and and very committed, the people in Ukraine with the equipment that will, we, we believe the, very helpful. This has been aircraft that has been extremely useful in, protecting Norway and Belgium and Netherlands and Denmark from, all these years. And, you know, we have upgraded them and we, give them to Ukraine. Yeah. All right. I want to talk about what’s happening in the United States and the scrutiny that President Biden is under and the confidence in him. does Norway have confidence in President Biden and being at the NATO summits and, of course, hearing what he has to say, engaging with the United States, what’s been the sense on the ground? So, so we are attending an international meeting of 32 countries, and many partners on top of that at a very critical moment. And, and my emphasis is on working, well, with America, whoever runs American. democracies are, complex constructions, but they’re the best way of governance. And, in our view. And we will respect, whatever happens, whether it’s happening, in the elections or before, we want to work with, and the American leader, and we want to convey one key message, which is that America has been an excellent partner over these 75 years. We are also doing our best. We have heard the message that came from Obama, from President Trump, from President Biden, that Europe needs to do more. And that message was heard. And the vast majority of European partners are no way about 2%, including my own country, Norway. We are actually heading towards three for our case, 3%. And that is before because it’s the right thing to do. But it also because we think this, this was an important, ask from, the biggest member of the alliance. So I don’t want to comment on, on the specifics of American internal discussions, but, I expect to be working well with whoever is the future president of the US. Absolutely. you know, as a final question, what is Norway hope to get out of this NATO summit? What are your expectations? I think it is, you know, NATO is in many ways coming back to its original core purpose. You know, in the meantime, we have been out there meandering into terrorist, you know, protection against terrorism, asymmetric threats. These are all important, and worthwhile issues. But now we are again, seeing that we have territorial war, state against state, inter-state war in Europe, and potentially also in other parts of the world. I mean, there are tensions growing also in Asia, and that is very much what was set up to do in this very city of Washington 75 years ago. And we want to make sure that it’s, prosperous, united and looking into the future because we have all the classical threats. But on top of that, we have, outer space, we have cyber, we have, critical infrastructure. We are much more connected countries now. And, these are issues that we want to deal with at this summit. All right. Norwegian foreign minister, it’s been botch. Ida, thank you so much for joining us. Good to have you on the show.

F-16 fighter jets have begun heading to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced. A joint statement from US President Joe Biden, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the news. #CNN #news

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35 comments

  2. Yeah but are they vaxxed??? Flying without the quad boost omicron perci eight sticks isn't only unsafe, it risks the pilot becoming a super spreader if he's shot down…. Not very safe nor effective

  5. Cnn is exuberant as house  voted 60 billions military aid to zelensky again. But  How is cnn making money out of the death of ukrainian n Russian soldiers thru this new military package..? It goes about like this: after the vote our government gives the big billions of dollars of usa taxpayers money to usa arms manufacturers in order to buy the weapons . The usa arms manufacturers make big profits out of that . Later Our  politicians demand their share (donations) from the usa ammunition manufacturing companies, Raytheon n others at election time. They say to the military companies we voted for the bill. Now it's your turn to give us a donation. The campaign of congresspeople from both parties Armed with cash donated to them by the usa military companies approach cnn for video promotion ads for reelection, costing  millions of dollars..at election cycles,, Cnn gets the checks of millions of dollars from the running politicians n  advertises the politicians's promotion videos over n over…so this is  how our  arms producing companies, congessspeople n cnn rub each other's back n all cash in. So cnn is extremely happy….
    Where are the usa taxpayers on that….at  IRS…

  12. Old news. The breaking news is that Russia told Austin 2 weeks back on phone that any airbase from any country used to fly F16 or any drone against Russia directly will be attacked. US has not flown one drone in Black Sea out of Romania since then.

  13. Pentagone shedulled ukrainian VICTORY for this summer
    Black misery is spreading in Russia, the Russian minimum wage is less than 160 euros, i.e. less than in 10 African countries, and food prices are skyrocketing: butter is a delirious 1,000 rubles a kg, i.e. a tenth of the salary of many Russians. So immense anger is rising against the Putin dictator. Putin-ceaucescu could fall any day now in a palace revolution. Putin has ruined Russia. The fortunes of the oligarchs are being seized all over the world, even in Dubai, and now they're being transferred to Ukraine to pay for Putin's destruction. This is unprecedented in history. Hundreds of billions of Russian funds will be paid to Ukraine…. and it's no doubt the ruined oligarchs who will precipitate the fall of the dictator Putin, hoping to recover part of their fortune in the process. The signal for the end of Putin will be the destruction of the Crimean bridge. The Russians will then be certain that Putin has lost his absurd war: isolated, Crimea will fall by atrition like Kherson, with no ammunition, no oil, no supplies and even no drinking water – all Crimean drinking water comes via the bridge or the very long and fragile railroad line, which is easy to cut. The Russian generals will hand Putin over to the ICC. The Russian generals will put the weight of the defeat and the army's crimes on his back. It's a classic ending to a dictatorship: the Russians will say they had to obey putin.
    …… ……… ……….

  15. Ladies and gentlemen, here comes another “game changer”… The best thing Ukraine can do right now is negotiate a peace agreement. Two years ago during the negotiations in Turkey, Ukraine was in a better position than it is now, but(!) it better off now than it will be in, say, a year. So… it’s better to cut the losses now

  19. Lets see if I can predict this:

    1) They didn't use them right
    2) They didn't have the special missiles and bombs
    3) No one said they'd be a gamechanger
    4) LOL congratulations, Russia shot down some 50 year old junk
    5) We said from the beginning they were unlikely to make a difference

  21. Yay more money for defense companies, contractors, congressional representatives and lobbyists. More money from them, a goodbye taxes for us 🤡

  26. It's regrettable that our collective attention has been diverted to perpetual conflicts, overshadowing the imperative to engage in substantive discourse on genuinely consequential issues. Among the most pressing of these is the precipitous decline in global fertility rates, a phenomenon affecting both humans and the broader animal kingdom. This alarming trend is intrinsically linked to the ubiquitous presence of endocrine disruptors—specifically, phthalates and bisphenols—which insidiously permeate our environment.

    These chemicals, prevalent in myriad consumer products, are known to interfere with the endocrine system, leading to profound physiological repercussions. In humans, exposure to these disruptors has been correlated with diminished sperm counts, reduced testosterone levels, and compromised ovarian function, thereby precipitating a fertility crisis of unprecedented scale. The ramifications extend to in utero development, where male fetuses exposed to these substances exhibit shortened anogenital distance (AGD), a biomarker indicative of disrupted endocrine function and reproductive anomalies.

    Moreover, the persistence of these chemicals in the environment ensures their enduring impact across multiple generations, compounding the urgency of addressing this issue. Research suggests that even if exposure were to cease immediately, it would take several generations—spanning decades—to mitigate the deleterious effects fully. This intergenerational latency underscores the gravity of the situation and the necessity for immediate, concerted action.

    Thus, it is imperative that we reorient our priorities, shedding the myopic focus on conflict in favor of addressing the insidious and far-reaching impact of endocrine disruptors. This shift is essential not only for safeguarding current and future generations but also for preserving the integrity of our natural ecosystems, which are equally imperiled by these pervasive toxins.

  29. They are all pocking the bear. Because they all know to have comfortable, safe and antinuclear bombs bunkers. To be with their families for months. While we, our children, families and friends have sheetrock and drywall for our protections. We are a nation of very intelligent people.

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