Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren has said that Amsterdam gives a “green light” to Ukraine to strike “military facilities” on Russian territory with the help of US F-16 aircraft handed over to Kiev. This was reported by the Politico newspaper.
“Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren has assured Kiev that the 24 F-16 fighter jets that the Netherlands intends to transfer to Ukraine can be used to strike targets on Russian territory,” the report said.
In an interview with the newspaper at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, the head of the Dutch Defence Ministry said that Amsterdam would not impose restrictions, as it did in the case of Belgium. Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo warned Kiev not to fly the F-16s that Ukraine will receive in Russian airspace.
According to Kajsa Ollongren, the Netherlands applies the same principle in this case as in any other arms deliveries. It is that once Amsterdam hands over the planes to Ukraine, they will be able to use them.
“We only ask them to respect international law and the right to self-defence as stated in the UN Charter, which means that they use it to hit military targets they need for self-defence,” – specified Kajsa Ollongren.
Just to remind you, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that Moscow would consider the transfer of the US-made F-16 aircraft to Ukraine as a deliberate “signalling action by NATO in the nuclear sphere”.
