One of Ukraine’s key allies has said that the country is may use its fighter jets “as it wishes” on strikes inside Russia, reflecting a more relaxed stance on how Kyiv employs Western-supplied weaponry.
Permission to use Western weapons on Russian soil has become a key point of contention between Ukraine and its allies, with Kyiv claiming this could turn the tide in the conflict. The statements from the Dutch top brass indicate that Ukraine’s other allies may soon follow suit, loosening restrictions on its activities deeper within Russia.
“We have not placed any restrictions on the use and range of the F-16, provided that the laws of war are adhered to,” Netherlands’ Chief of Defence Onno Eichelsheim told Dutch outlet NOS in remarks published on Thursday.
“Ukraine can use the resources we provide as it wishes, provided that it is adhered to the humanitarian law of war,” the general added.
Netherlands’ Commander of the Armed Forces Onno Eichelsheim addresses media representatives during a press briefing at The Ministry of Defence in The Hague, the Netherlands on February 24 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. On Thursday, the general was quoted by NOS as saying: “We have not placed any restrictions” on Ukraine’s use of F-16s within Russia.
Bart Maat/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
The Netherlands has been a generous provider of materiel for Ukraine’s war effort, so far pledging 24 of the American-made F-16s to Kyiv, though Eichelsheim did not confirm how many of these had been delivered to the frontlines.
Speaking to NOS during a visit to D.C., Eichelsheim said that the U.S. partly shared his country’s position on Ukrainian use of Western weaponry, despite Washington maintaining a stricter public stance on this matter.
“They have different restrictions, but they have also supplied different weapon systems,” Eichelsheim said. “In any case, we have the same line to ensure that Ukraine wins the war. I think we’re putting all the effort into making that happen.”
Eichelsheim, the highest ranking military figure in the country, also hailed Ukraine’s ongoing Kursk incursion as “brilliant,” telling NOS: “They took over a large area fairly quickly in a good way, with new techniques. In doing so, they have created a dilemma for Putin.”
According to the general, the focus should now be on “strategically” exploiting the territorial gains it has made in Kursk, which he said could be used as a “bargaining chip” in future negotiations with Moscow.
Netherlands’ Air Force F-16 jetfighters take part in the NATO exercise as part of the NATO Air Policing mission, in Alliance members’ sovereign airspace on July 4, 2023. When contacted by Newsweek, the Dutch defense ministry said: “Ukraine is free to use Dutch-delivered F-16s for its self defense above the territory of the Russian Federation as long as it adheres to the rules and stipulations laid down in Article 51 of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law.”
John Thys/AFP via Getty Images
His statements on Dutch F-16s were echoed by Dutch Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans on Thursday.
“The laws of war say that if Ukraine is attacked from Russia Ukraine may also attack military targets,” the minister said, in response to a question about Eichelsheim’s earlier comments. “For the F-16s, that would mean that if, for example, a missile is fired from Russia, you can also intercept it with an F-16 over Russia.”
Brekelmans was quoted by NOS as saying “airports are also legitimate targets,” but that Ukraine was “clearly not allowed” to conduct attacks on civilian targets.
Newsweek contacted the Dutch Ministry of Defence to clarify the minister’s airport comment.
“Ukraine is free to use Dutch-delivered F-16s for its self defense above the territory of the Russian Federation as long as it adheres to the rules and stipulations laid down in Article 51 of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law,” the ministry said, referencing the founding UN principle concerning member states’ inherent right to self-defense.
“This means that Ukraine may use Dutch-delivered F-16s to, as an example, strike at military airfields from which attacks against Ukraine originate,” the ministry added.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky talks on the occasion of the Air Forces Day, standing against the background of Ukraine’s Air Force’s F-16 fighter jets in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Sunday, August 4, 2024. Officials in the Netherlands and Denmark have said that Ukraine is free to use their F-16s to strike targets within Russia, provided its actions are in self-defense and remain within the laws of war.
Efrem Lukatsky)/Associated Press
This is consistent with previous comments made by officials from the Netherlands and Denmark, another member of the informal coalition calling for more F-16s to be sent to Ukraine.
In May, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot was quoted by RFE/RL as saying “there are no borders on the use of weapons,” if Ukraine’s actions were conducted in self-defense, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Bruins’ Slots’s comments followed those of her Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who told reporters on May 30 that Ukraine’s use of F-16s to strike targets within Russia would be legitimate if this was in response to a Russian attack and not “arbitrary attacks into Russia.”
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