Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has approved the training of about 50 Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft on Romanian territory, Ukrinform reported.
The pilots will learn to operate F-16 aircraft at a military base in the city of Fătesti, in southern Romania.
Iohannis also informed the parliament in a letter that he had authorized the transit of military equipment and other cargoes that Finland had transferred to Ukraine through Romanian territory.
It is noted that the president’s letter will be put to a vote at the next joint plenary session of both houses of parliament.
It is not yet known when the training of Ukrainian pilots will begin, but the publication reports, citing sources from the Romanian media outlet Digi24, that they will arrive at the base in the summer of 2024 and complete their training by the end of the year.
Last October, the Royal Netherlands Air Force announced that it would send F-16s to the Air Base ‘Air Lieutenant Gheorghe Mochornice’ in Romania to help train Ukrainian pilots. A month later, Romania inaugurated a training center in Fătesti.
As reported, on February 22, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine will have the right to attack military targets in Russia with F-16 fighters.
Source: The Gaze