Netherlands does not restrict Ukraine's use of F-16s - Army commander
Photo: The Netherlands does not restrict Ukraine's use of F-16 fighter jets (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The Netherlands does not restrict Ukraine's use of F-16 fighter jets. This also applies to the range of their use, according to the commander of the Dutch Armed Forces, General Onno Eichelsheim.
"We do not set any restrictions on the use and range of the F-16, provided that the laws of war are respected," the general says.
Eichelsheim says he considered Ukraine's Kursk operation brilliant from a practical point of view. He stresses that Ukrainian troops have taken control of a large area using new methods and created a dilemma for Putin.
"Ukraine has to act differently than it did in the past because now it is a static front. So I understand very well from a military-operational point of view what Ukraine is trying to do in this way," he says.
The Dutch Army Commander also says that he would not object to the use of weapons provided to Ukraine during the fighting in the Kursk region.
"Ukraine can use the resources we provide as it wishes, provided that it complies with the humanitarian law of war," Eichelsheim adds.
F-16s already in Ukraine
In early August, it became official that Ukraine had received F-16 aircraft from its partners. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed the fighter jets received by the Ukrainian Air Force.
The Ukrainian military and political command emphasises that the aircraft are not yet enough to change the situation on the battlefield.
The Netherlands promised to provide Ukraine with 24 F-16 fighter jets. The Netherlands does not say how many of them Ukraine has already received. The United States has also said that it would not be transferring F-16s to the Ukrainian army soon.
