The Netherlands has announced that Ukraine will be free to use Dutch-supplied F-16 fighter jets to attack targets within Russia as the Kremlin has warned of “fatal consequences” for the United States amid the escalations.
Speaking from a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague on Monday, outgoing Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said that Ukraine will be free to deploy its F-16 fighter jets to strike inside Russia once they are received.
Although the Biden White House initially blocked the transfer of the American-made fighter jet, this restriction was later removed allowing the Dutch government to commit to supply Ukraine with 24 F-16s once Ukrainian pilots had been sufficiently trained on how to operate the warplanes.
Bruins Slot claimed that the approval from Washington to allow Amsterdam to send the fighters to Ukraine did not come with any conditions on where they could be used, saying restrictions on using F-16s to attack the Russian mainland “were never discussed”.
“The principle applies to the F-16s that you may operate on Russian territory if it is in the context of self-defence” like any other weapons supplied to Ukraine, Bruins Slot said according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
Contrary to the Dutch minister’s claims, President Biden said last year following his decision to allow NATO allies to supply F-16s to Ukraine, that he was given “flat assurance” from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that it would be on the condition that they would not be used within Russia but rather “wherever Russian troops are within Ukraine”. However, it is unclear if the White House repeated such restrictions to the Netherlands.
It comes amid an emerging consensus among NATO powers that Ukraine should be given dispensation to use Western-supplied missiles and other weapons to strike targets within Russia amid growing realisation of Kyiv’s precarious situation as Putin’s troops once again advance after successfully fending off Ukraine’s much-heralded counteroffensive last year.
At the beginning of last month, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron announced that Ukraine would be free to use British weapons to attack Russian targets, arguing that it was necessary for Ukraine to “defend itself” from Russian attacks launched from within the mainland, notably on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv.
This was followed by similar announcements from France, Poland, and Germany last week. It has also been reported that the Biden administration has also given approval for some American weapons to be used within Russian territory, however, the approval is said to not include the long-range ATACMS missiles, the denial of which has drawn the ire of President Zelensky.
In response to the approval by Biden and Western allies to strike within Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency on Monday: “I would like to warn American leaders against miscalculations that could have fatal consequences. For unknown reasons, they underestimate the seriousness of the rebuff they may receive. The President of the Russian Federation has repeatedly spoken out on this topic.”
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Grushko also issued a warning against strikes within Russia, telling TASS: “We are aware that Western countries are moving to escalate. Therefore, all measures that are necessary on our part will be taken in order to neutralise threats associated with this escalation.”
The escalation may have already occurred, with London’s Daily Telegraph reporting that Ukraine used American-supplied HIMARS missiles to strike an air defence installation in Russia’s Belgorod region on Sunday. While the border region has previously come under air attacks and Ukrainian missile strikes, it is believed that Sunday’s attack was the first instance of U.S. weapons striking the area.