Ukraine will reportedly need to wait up to an additional half year before receiving the F-16 fighter jets promised to the war-torn country from the Kingdom of Denmark, according to the Danish defence ministry.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has long lobbied Western powers for American-made F-16 warplanes, will apparently need to wait longer until the first jets are handed over, with the Danish Ministry of Defense announcing on Saturday that the first delivery F-16 jets will be delayed by at least six months.

Denmark became the first power in August to announce its intentions to donate some of its stock of the advanced war planes, promising Kyiv to commit 19 of its own F-16s to help Ukraine with its war with Russia.

The first delivery of around six F-16s was intended to have reached Ukraine “around New Year,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in August, with the remaining planes to be delivered throughout 2024 and 2025.