PM Marin's Idea to Transfer Fighter Jets to Ukraine Has Not Been Discussed
vedomosti.ru (Ведомости) | Finland said that the prime minister's idea to transfer fighter jets to the AFU had not been discussed | The proposal to transfer the decommissioned Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine has not been discussed with anyone, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has said. Earlier in Kiev, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that the republic could discuss such a possibility, writes Helsingin Sanomat. 💬 "This has not been discussed with anyone," Niinistö's presidential office said. Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen also told Iltalehti that Marin had not told him about his initiative beforehand, and that if he had discussed the possibility of supplying fighter jets, he would have "stomped on" the idea. Marin said during a March 10 visit to Kiev that Finnish authorities could discuss sending Hornet fighters to Ukraine. 💬 "Yes, I think we can discuss the Hornet as well, whether it would be possible to transfer them to Ukraine and what kind of training would be needed for that," the Finnish prime minister said. According to the newspaper, the Finnish fighter fleet will be decommissioned from 2025 and will be replaced with F-35 fighters. ● On January 12, the president of Finland admitted that the country may transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, but only a few of them. He explained that this was due to the fact that Finland is not a member of NATO and borders with Russia. In late February, Helsinki reported that Niinistö had approved the delivery of three Leopard 2 tanks. It was reported that the cost of the new aid package to Ukraine would be more than 160 million euros. ● Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of Western arms to Kiev. In particular, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the supply of long-range weapons would only expand the geography of special operations. (Translation: DeepL.com) (Photo © defenseworld.net)
■ Kuleba reveals which countries' fighter jets Ukraine is counting on (Yahoo!Finance)
■ Ukraine already knows type of aircraft it may get from Western allies (The New Voice of Ukraine)
■ Ukraine does not expect fighter jet deliveries in the near future, says top diplomat (TASS)