THE HAGUE, KYIV - The Netherlands is sending F-16s to Romania to train Ukrainian pilots there. Before that, Ukrainians will receive preparatory training in Denmark starting next month, said Caretaker Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said NATO made another step towards accepting Ukraine into the military alliance on Tuesday, a day before he was set to have a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We will help set up the training center," which is being built in Romania, Ollongren said at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. At the training center, Ukrainians will become familiarized with the F-16 in the coming years. The center will also be used to train pilots from other allied nations.
Ollongren said she "assumes that it will take at least six to eight months before they will be able to fly and maintain such an F-16." After that, according to the minister, the demand for the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine will logically arised, but the United States will still have to give permission for that. The fighter jet has only ever been produced by American manufacturers, starting with General Dynamics, then Lockheed Corporation, and currently Lockheed Martin.
However, Ukraine was not explicitly invited to join NATO with a specified timetable during the summit on Tuesday. The country will be invited to join NATO once the alliance agrees that certain conditions are met, the leaders of the current NATO countries agreed.
Ukraine fervently pressed for an immediate invitation, but their demands were refused, with the strongest opposition from the United States and Germany. This happened despite a series of furious tweets from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he made his way to the Vilnius summit.
NATO did make more concessions towards Ukraine than it did in 2008, when the alliance promised Ukraine it would one day become a member. That commitment was reaffirmed in the official statement by the Netherlands' caretaker prime minister, Mark Rutte, and the thirty other leaders. If they consider Ukraine ready for accession, the process can be completed faster than usual. The membership process, in which an aspiring member is groomed for the alliance, will be streamlined for Kyiv.
However, the raging war is the main obstacle to Ukraine's accession, Zelenskyy also acknowledged. As long as Ukraine is still fighting for its survival, the danger of dragging NATO into the war is too great. But the Ukrainian president had nevertheless hoped for an clear invitation, preferably with a definitive deadline for Ukraine to cash in on it. That would make it clear to Russia that Ukraine will soon be part of NATO and can therefore count on the protection of the most powerful alliance in the world, he said, and that Russia cannot prevent that, on the battlefield or at the negotiating table.
NATO's assurances for Ukraine "clearly go further" than the 2008 commitment, with the alliance "now saying, 'You can join, but there are still conditions,'" said Rutte. He said that was both "logical" and "good."
The precise "conditions" for Ukraines's accession were not made clear by the NATO leaders. A member state in the making must militarily and administratively fit in perfectly with the other NATO members. The Ukrainian army must be as modern as the NATO armies for this, but that goal is quickly approaching, according to diplomats. NATO countries are sending shipments of Western weaponry and are teaching Ukrainians the finer points of Western warfare. There will soon be few militaries in Europe considered to be more modern and stronger than the Ukrainian military, NATO sources said.
By announcing conditions, the alliance can in any case determine for itself at all times when Ukraine is ready to become a member. The Netherlands and other member states hope that Kyiv will be satisfied after all. For example, because NATO members promise to strengthen the country in such a way that it can single-handedly hold off Russia as long as it is not yet part of NATO.
In any case, Zelensky's angry tweets were "not that helpful," said Rutte. Ukraine and its allies should radiate unity, in his opinion.