List of countries to establish air coalition for Ukraine is clear - Defense Express editor-in-chief Katkov

Oleh Katkov, Defense Express editor-in-chief, shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Statements about the possible entry of pilots into the Foreign Legion are a solution to the issue of fighter jets. These talks in the West about training that takes pilots 18 months and "therefore not timely" are somehow leveled. This is of utmost importance. The question of the aircraft themselves remains. The news from the Danish Defense Minister, who said that the country is not opposed to joining the coalition for F-16 aircraft, is extremely good news," he emphasized.

Katkov added that those aircraft that are being decommissioned and replaced with F-35s are in question.

"Their supply does not represent a significant deterioration in defense capabilities for Denmark. This is extremely important for making a decision on the delivery of any weapons for a donor country. As for potential European candidates for F-16s, Denmark has expressed its readiness, discussions are underway in the Netherlands, there are aircraft in Belgium, which is also replacing them with F-35s, and the Prime Minister of Portugal said in February that the supply of aircraft is not a red line. A potential coalition of Denmark, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium as F-16 donors can already be outlined, and pilots can already be recruited. We can also mention Poland, which has 48 F-16s. They have already announced that they cannot donate an additional batch of MiG-29s because they are needed to defend the country. Objectively, Poland’s position is understandable here," the expert concluded.