Norway has decided to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming the third European country to do so, Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources close to the matter, Reuters reports.

TV 2 did not specify how many F-16 aircraft Norway will provide to Kyiv. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment on this information.

If confirmed, the Scandinavian country will become Ukraine’s third partner country to supply it with such aircraft, after Denmark and the Netherlands. They jointly announced the decision late last week.

The information about the Norwegian donation was conveyed by TV 2 in the context of the meeting of Prime Minister Jonas Gar Stere with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in Kyiv on Thursday. The Prime Minister of Norway announced new donations of anti-aircraft missiles and other equipment to Kyiv, but kept silent about the F-16.

Ukraine has been asking its Western partners for years for F-16s, citing their destructive power and global availability.

The planes are equipped with a 20mm gun and can carry bombs, rockets and other projectiles.

Many NATO member nations have F-16s in their arsenals, making it easier to find parts needed for repairs compared to some of the Soviet-made warplanes in Ukraine.

Norway sells more than half of its F-16s to Romania

Last year, Norway retired its F-16 fleet of 57 units and reached an agreement with the Romanian government to sell 32 of them to our country. On June 9 of this year, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram announced the completion of the agreement.

“I want to congratulate our NATO ally, Romania, who behaved professionally in the negotiations,” the Norwegian minister said at the time. All aircraft undergo maintenance before being handed over to Romania.

Another 12 F-16s are slated to be sold to a private company to train American fighter pilots, although that deal has not yet been finalized and some experts say the planes would be suitable for donation to the Ukrainians.

As for the remaining 13 F-16s that will remain in Norway after the two deals, Norway’s defense minister said it would be too expensive or difficult to repair them and that they could be given to military museums, used for spare parts exchange or shipped. for scrap metal

Norway has replaced its F-16s with their successor, the F-35.

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