Romania debunks fake news about training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s
Photo: F-16 fighter jet (Getty Images)
Information has appeared on Telegram channels claiming that Ukrainian pilots are already training on F-16 fighters in Romania. The country's Ministry of Defense stated that this is fake news, according to the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
Reportedly, the so-called Report on the Activities of the Romanian Ministry of Defense for Training Ukrainian Pilots in 2024 was published online.
The Ministry stated that this document is a crude forgery, created by manipulating information in the Romanian Ministry of Defense's 2023 activity report. Furthermore, numerous errors in the "report" suggest that the text of this fake document was likely automatically translated from another language.
"This so-called 'information,' which was given a title to create the appearance of an official statement, attempts to give credibility to the idea that Ukrainian pilots have already begun training at the European F-16 Training Center in Fetești, which is absolutely false," emphasized the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
The Ministry recalled that the first group of pilots was recently trained at the European F-16 Training Center, but all of them are Romanian citizens.
F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine
An aviation coalition was formed last year, led by the Netherlands and Denmark.
As part of the coalition, several partner countries have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 F-16 fighter jets and training Ukrainian pilots on these aircraft.
Recently, media reports claimed that a certain number of F-16s have already arrived in Ukraine.
Later, The Telegraph reported that the Ukrainian Air Force had already used F-16s for air defense purposes.
For detailed information on whether F-16s have already been delivered to Ukraine and how they might be used, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.
