Ukraine receives 24 Dutch F-16 fighter jets for use against targets in Russia

The Netherlands gives 24 F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian air forces to use them against targets in Russia. This does not require permission from the United States, Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said. The use is also not limited to the border region near Kharkiv, as is the case for American weapons.

The F-16 is American-made, and therefore the US has a say in some decisions. For example, they held up the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine for a long time. But restrictions on where Ukraine can use them "have never been discussed," Bruins Slot said after consultations with her NATO colleagues in Prague.

The outgoing minister contradicts previous reports that the US should approve. The US is reluctantly giving Ukraine more room to use American weapons across the border. For now, this only applies to the new front near Kharkiv.

Ukraine's second city is close to the Russian border. Russia is bombarding Kharkiv from behind the border and has so far been gathering troops there relatively undisturbed for its new offensive.

The consultation with the Americans Bruins Slot talked about earlier in the day is normal within the so-called fighter aircraft coalition. The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and the US, are coordinating the delivery of the F-16s to Ukraine. Belgium also confirmed that the Americans have not set any national limits on Ukraine's use of the devices.

The 30 Belgian F-16s that Ukraine can expect to receive may only be used against targets in Ukraine. Belgium sets these conditions itself. The Netherlands and Denmark only hold Ukraine to international law. For example, the country is not allowed to attack civilian targets in Russia.

"The principle applies to the F-16s that you may operate on Russian territory if it is in the context of self-defense," says Bruins Slot. That is "the same as all other weapons" that the Netherlands supplies.