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US Approves Sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and Netherlands

Netherlands' Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly 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. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Netherlands' Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly 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. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
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US Approves Sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and Netherlands

Netherlands' Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly 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. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Netherlands' Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly 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. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russian invaders as soon as pilot training is completed, a US official said on Thursday.
Ukraine has actively sought the US-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russian air superiority, Reuters said.
Washington gave Denmark and the Netherlands official assurances that the United States will expedite approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots are trained, the official said.
"We welcome Washington's decision to pave the way for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine," Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Now, we will further discuss the subject with our European partners."
Denmark also said providing Ukraine with the jets would now be discussed.
"The government has said several times that a donation is a natural next step after training. We are discussing it with close allies, and I expect we will soon be able to be more concrete about that," Danish defense minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen told news agency Ritzau on Friday.
A coalition of 11 countries was due to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets this month in Denmark. Denmark's acting Defense Minister Troels Poulsen said in July that the country hoped to see "results" from the training in early 2024.
NATO members Denmark and the Netherlands have been leading international efforts to train pilots as well as support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately enable Ukraine to obtain F-16s for use in its war with Russia.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in May said the Netherlands was seriously considering providing Ukraine with F-16's, as it is currently phasing out the fighter jets from its own armed forces.
According to figures from the Dutch defense ministry the Netherlands currently has 24 operational F-16's which will be phased out by mid-2024. Another 18 of the jets are currently available for sale, of which 12 have been provisionally sold.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests would be approved, the US official said.
"I am writing to express the United States’ full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors," Blinken said in a letter to the two officials, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Blinken said, "It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty."
He said the approval of the requests would allow Ukraine to take "full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training."
US President Joe Biden endorsed training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May. In addition to training in Denmark, a training center was to be set up in Romania.
Kyiv will not be able to operate US-built F-16 fighter jets this coming autumn and winter, Ukraine air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television late on Wednesday. US officials have privately said that F-16 jets would have been of little help to Ukraine in its current counteroffensive and will not be a game changer when they eventually arrive given Russian air defense systems and contested skies over Ukraine.
The F-16 is made by Lockheed Martin.

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Man Sets Arm on Fire During US March to Mark Gaza War Anniversary

The pro-Palestinian protest began and ended outside the White House in Washington, with demonstrators demanding an end to US aid to Israel - AFP
The pro-Palestinian protest began and ended outside the White House in Washington, with demonstrators demanding an end to US aid to Israel - AFP
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Man Sets Arm on Fire During US March to Mark Gaza War Anniversary

The pro-Palestinian protest began and ended outside the White House in Washington, with demonstrators demanding an end to US aid to Israel - AFP
The pro-Palestinian protest began and ended outside the White House in Washington, with demonstrators demanding an end to US aid to Israel - AFP

Thousands marched in US cities from Washington to Los Angeles on Saturday, demanding an immediate ceasefire as the war in Gaza nears the one-year mark, with a man attempting to self-immolate in protest.

In New York, pro-Palestine demonstrators walked in the city's Midtown neighbourhood, waving flags and holding signs.

"The US government has really shown what side of history it is on," Zaid Khatib, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, told AFP.

"The US government has performed and co-signed the most evil atrocities that we've seen of this century."

Almost two hours into the protest, a man approached the demonstration site and attempted to set himself on fire, AFP journalists saw.

He succeeded in lighting his left arm ablaze before bystanders and police rushed to his aid, dousing him with water and extinguishing the flames using their keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves.

"I'm a journalist and we neglect it, we spread the misinformation," he shouted, in between screams of pain as the fire on his arm was put out.

Police said the man was being treated for "non-life threatening injuries."

Protesters waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags, among others, with many holding up signs and chanting in unison to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

In New York, thousands marched in the city's famed Times Square neighborhood, some carrying pictures of people killed by Israel's military offensive in Gaza, which has left much of the territory in rubble.

Among those marching was Cornel West, a prominent rights activist and an independent candidate running in the US presidential election.

"I'm here to forever be in solidarity with people undergoing a vicious genocide," he told AFP. "Dealing with ethnic cleansing it's getting worse, it's been a whole year now. You know, we got to keep fighting."

The United States is one of Israel's closest allies, providing billions in military assistance -- a subject that protesters in both cities focused on.

Police at the protest in Washington maintained a perimeter around the demonstration

"As an American we're tired of our tax money going to Israel to bomb kids in Palestine and then Lebanon," said Daniel Perez, a New York resident.

Protesters also took to the street in Los Angeles, many holding signs calling for an end to "genocide" in Gaza.

In Washington, protesters' cries for "justice" and "peace" reverberated off office buildings in downtown, with the crowd animated by a mix of righteous anger and raucous solidarity.

Laila, an American of Palestinian and Lebanese descent, told AFP the past year had left her disillusioned with her country's leaders -- so much so that she was unlikely to vote in November.

"It all disgusts me now," she said. "It's all a lie."