Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Danish lawmakers on Monday for helping his country resist Russia’s invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Kyiv with American-made F-16 warplanes that could be delivered around the end of the year.

Zelensky told the lawmakers that if Russia’s invasion is successful, other parts of Europe would be at risk from the Kremlin’s military aggression.

"All of Russia’s neighbors are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail,” he said in a speech in Copenhagen.

Zelensky portrays Ukraine as defending Western values of freedom and democracy against tyranny. He has argued that Ukraine needs to be properly provisioned to fend off Russia’s much bigger force.

Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies for months to give it F-16s. Its armed forces are still using aging Soviet-era combat planes from the 1970s and '80s, and its counteroffensive against Russian positions is advancing without air support, which analysts say is a major handicap.

Zelensky said on Telegram that Ukraine would get 42 jets. Denmark pledged 19 F-16s, which could be delivered around the end of the year when pilot training lasting four to six months is completed.

Associated Press