NATO-member Norway to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming third country to do so

By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian Prime Minister  Jonas Gahr Støre says his NATO-member country will donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Speaking to Norwegian news agency NTB in the Ukrainian capital, Gahr Støre said Norway will probably donate less than 10 aircraft. The plan was reported by Norwegian broadcasters NRK and TV2. Norway would be the third country after the Netherlands and Denmark to donate F-16 planes. Ukraine has long pleaded for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge. It recently launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.