Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Saturday accused “some” Western partners of delaying plans to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, AFP reports.

“Do they have any idea when Ukraine can get the F-16?” Zelenskyy told reporters during a press conference together with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, referring to the West.

“There is no training mission schedule. I think some partners take their time. Why am I doing this? I don’t know,” added Zelensky.

At the beginning of June, Zelenskyi said that he received a “serious and solid” offer from the leaders of countries that are ready to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets, and he is waiting for final agreements with Ukraine’s allies.

“Our partners know how many planes we need… We have already received estimates of the number (of planes) from some of our European partners… This is a serious and solid proposal,” he said.

“Kyiv is now waiting for a final agreement with its allies, including a “joint agreement with the United States,” Zelenskyy also noted. It is still unclear which of Kyiv’s allies is ready to send planes to Ukraine.”

In May, at the G7 summit, US President Joe Biden said that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian F-16 pilots. But US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there was no final decision on whether Washington would send the planes.

Zelensky has long called for F-16s, saying that their use by Ukrainian pilots would be a sure signal to the world that the Russian invasion would end in defeat.

Russia responded by claiming that US-made F-16 fighter jets could “host” nuclear weapons and warned that providing them to Kyiv would further escalate the conflict.

The West wants Ukrainian pilots to train on the F-16 in Romania

NATO countries are moving closer to starting a program to supply Ukraine with F-16 jets in a few months, and a coalition of Western countries is considering Romania as a possible base for training Ukrainian pilots, according to three people familiar with the plans, citing Politico.

“Romania is one of the locations that the coalition is looking at for training,” said one Western official, who spoke on condition of anonymity along with a current and former Defense Department official.

According to current and former Pentagon officials, the group is working on a contract to conduct aircraft training at a base in Romania. Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-16, is likely to lead the training, they added.

The Romanian Air Force has a fleet of 17 second-hand F-16s purchased from Portugal and is set to purchase another 32 from Norway. However, Bucharest recently approved a plan to purchase the more advanced F-35, Politico notes.

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