Ukraine and Czech Republic agree to cooperate in training F-16 pilots

The head of the Ukrainian government announced this at a briefing on the occasion of a meeting with his Czech counterpart, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“We will strengthen the integration of the Ukrainian and Czech defense industries. In addition, we agreed to cooperate in the training of Ukrainian pilots of F-16 aircraft,” he said.

Shmyhal noted that the parties reaffirmed the importance of further increasing military, financial, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

At the same time, the Prime Minister noted that the Czech side would do its utmost to facilitate Ukraine’s European integration. In particular, this includes advisory assistance during pre-accession negotiations with the EU.

The Prime Minister also expressed his gratitude for the adoption of the 17th package of sanctions against Russia by the European Union, in which, according to the Prime Minister, the Czech Republic played an important role.

“We also agreed with Mr. Prime Minister [Fiala] to intensify bilateral trade, cooperation in energy, agriculture, transport, medicine, reconstruction and joint production,” Shmyhal added.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of a Ukrainian-Czech F-16 school within the aviation coalition, which will be located outside Ukraine.

Today, May 20, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Peter Fiala in Zakarpattia. During the event, the parties signed a memorandum of cooperation.