The Netherlands has been one of the driving forces behind an international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16s to strengthen its air defense against the Russian invasion.

Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States expect to deliver the first of dozens of F-16s to Ukraine within a few months after establishing the pilot training program and donating aircraft.

“We hope to start this summer and we hope to see the first Dutch planes going there in the autumn,” Dutch Defence minister Kajsa Ollongren said after the handover of the planes in Romania. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the donation a “breakthrough agreement” last year and said the planes would strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses and help its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

But U.S. officials have privately said the jets will not be a game changer when they eventually arrive after months of training, given the strength of the Russian air force and its defense systems.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin last month said the F-16s would not change the situation on the battlefield and would be shot down by Russian forces.

“We shouldn’t be in this kind of game of saying how much is destroyed, because I think that then the Ukrainians have a bigger success than the Russians,” Ollongren said.

“The problem is that Russia is continuing this illegal war in Ukraine at the cost of enormous numbers of human lives, also on their side. We have to step up and increase our support to Ukraine,” he added.