Ukrainian, Dutch leaders discuss air defence strengthening, training on F-16

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte on August 8.

As reported by Rutte on Twitter, "the Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine," and they are currently looking "into what else we can do to strengthen Ukrainian air defences," according to European Pravda.

"One way we are helping is by working with our partners to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s," he wrote.

The Prime Minister also congratulated Zelenskyy on the "successful meeting in Saudi Arabia on the war, where the Netherlands was represented," emphasising the importance of continuing to talk about peace in Ukraine with this broad group of countries.

"We also discussed developments on the front and the unrelenting, random and brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets and food stocks," Rutte said.

📞: Today I spoke again with President @ZelenskyyUa and I congratulated him on the successful meeting in Saudi Arabia on the war, where the Netherlands was represented. It’s important to continue talking about peace in Ukraine with this broad group of countries.
We also…

— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) August 8, 2023

Earlier, the Head of the Office of the President, Andrii Yermak, discussed with the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, the strengthening of air defence in southern Ukraine to protect the ports.

Before that, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called for arming Ukraine with F-16s after another missile attack by Russia.