Netherlands allows Ukraine to use F-16 fighters to attack Russian Federation

Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren has reassured Kyiv that the 24 F-16 fighter jets that the Netherlands intends to donate to Ukraine may be used to strike targets inside Russia, Report informs.

In an interview with POLITICO at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Ollongren said the Netherlands would not impose a limitation as was the case with Belgium, where Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has warned Kyiv not to fly the F-16s it gets from his country in Russian airspace.

“There is not” a Belgian-style restriction, Ollongren said. “We are applying the same principle that we have applied to every other delivery of capabilities, which is once we hand it over to Ukraine, it’s theirs to use," she said.

"We only ask them to comply to international law and the right to self-defense as stated in the UN Charter, which means they use it to target the military goals they need to target in their self-defense,” Ollongren said.

Ollongren and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were among senior officials who met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also attended the Singapore conference on Sunday.

The Netherlands also pledged to continue its naval presence in the South China Sea, where Southeast Asian countries are increasingly uncomfortable with China’s assertive behavior in international waters.