Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a press conference on Friday that the Netherlands “is seriously considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but has not yet made a final decision.” But, according to him, “if you start training, then it is obvious that you think about it seriously”.
Earlier this week, the Netherlands said it wanted to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s as soon as possible.
According to Rutte, any decision to send 4th generation F-16 fighters was subject to US approval. Rutte added that the Netherlands could potentially have fighters to transfer to Ukraine as the Dutch Air Force will phase out its F-16s.
According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, they currently have 24 active F-16s in service, which will be decommissioned by mid-2024. Another 18 devices are currently available for sale, 12 of which have already been pre-sold.
Last Friday, US President Joe Biden approved F-16 training programs for Ukrainian pilots, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured Biden that the planes would not be used to cross Russian territory.
NATO nations say they will help Ukraine repel Russian aggression for as long as necessary, but insist they do not want to provoke a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.
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