The Netherlands has declared that it will allow Ukraine to use the 24 F-16 fighter jets it provides for any purpose Kiev deems necessary.
“There are no Belgian-style restrictions,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told Politico on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 2.
“We are applying the same principle that we have applied to all other arms deliveries, which is: once we hand over weapons to Ukraine, they have the right to use them,” Ollongren explained.
Minister Ollongren said the Dutch government only requires that its weapons be used in accordance with international law.
The Dutch statement is at odds with an earlier statement by Belgium.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo last week announced that Belgium had signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, including the supply of 30 F-16 fighter jets in 2028, the largest aid package of any of Kiev’s allies.
However, Belgium does not allow Kiev to use Belgian-supplied weapons, including F-16 fighter jets, outside Ukrainian territory.
Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder also said that the country’s military weapons can only be deployed within Ukrainian territory.
Meanwhile, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on May 30 that Ukraine will be allowed to use Danish-supplied F-16 fighter jets to attack military targets inside Russian territory.
The Evening Standard reported on May 10, citing a “senior military source,” that Ukraine will receive its first F-16 fighters “within weeks.”
A group of Western countries has formed a fighter jet coalition led by Denmark and the Netherlands to provide Kiev with F-16 fighters as well as train pilots and support personnel.
On June 2, the Greek website Defence-Point confirmed that the first foreign instructor to train Ukrainian pilots on how to use F-16 fighter jets was a Greek Air Force pilot.
The move is part of the “F-16 Training Coalition” initiative by 11 NATO member states to train Ukrainian pilots and technicians to use the American-made fighter jet.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would consider NATO members providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as a signal of the military alliance’s readiness for action in the nuclear field.
He stressed that the supply of F-16 fighter jets would not change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine in any way.
In April, the Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that Moscow would consider the F-16s that Ukraine is about to receive as a nuclear threat and that their transfer by the West is a provocative act.
The F-16 is a fourth-generation multi-role light fighter jet manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The aircraft is designed to perform both ground attack and air interception missions.
The F-16 is capable of carrying a variety of weapons, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, as well as a variety of bombs, including nuclear bombs.
Source: Compiled
