Russia warns F-16s delivered by the Netherlands and Denmark will escalate the war

Russia objects to the planned delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Sunday that the Netherlands and Denmark would supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This move can only lead to an "escalation of the conflict," said Russia's ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin in a statement cited by the Danish news agency Ritzau.

The Russian ambassador to Denmark stated that efforts are being made to put Ukraine in a position "where it would have to continue the military confrontation with Russia." He also added that "By hiding behind the premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark, through its actions and words, seems to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia,", Reuters also reported.

Prominent pro-Russian leader Denis Pushilin also denounced the planned delivery of the planes. The head of the Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2022 argued that the delivery indicates that Western countries are still trying to prolong the conflict, as reported by the Russian state-owned news agency TASS. “Of course, this can be characterized as the ongoing aspirations of Western countries to continue fomenting the conflict, and such actions cannot be explained as peace initiatives," he said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Denmark will supply a total of 19 fighter jets. The first six jets are expected to be delivered around the turn of the year, according to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The Netherlands has a total of 42 F-16s available, with 24 currently operational. It has not yet been decided if all of them will be sent to Ukraine. No details on the timing of the Dutch delivery have been announced.

It is the first time that a Western country has promised modern fighter jets to Ukraine. Zelenskyy has long requested the delivery of F-16s. Earlier, the government in Kyiv had received Russian-made warplanes from former Eastern Bloc countries. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Koeleba praised the Netherlands for leading by example when it comes to facilitating the deliveries of new weapon systems, during a joint interview with his outgoing counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, in the Volkskrant on Monday.

On Monday, Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine may use the F-16 fighter jets donated by Denmark and the Netherlands only over its own territory. "We donate weapons on the condition that they are used to drive the enemy from Ukrainian territory. No further than that," he said. "Those are the conditions, whether they are tanks, fighter jets, or anything else,” he added.