NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made headlines yesterday when he said “F-16” and “Ukraine has the right to attack targets outside of its borders,” in the same interview, implying that NATO is giving the Kiev regime the green light to strike targets in Russia with the F-16s that some NATO members are preparing to send to Ukraine.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Stoltenberg could not say when the F-16s would be delivered. He reiterated, however, that Ukraine’s allies all want them to be there as early as possible, but said the effect of the F-16s will be stronger if pilots are well trained and maintenance crews and other support personnel are well-prepared. It will be up to each ally to decide whether to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, and allies have different policies, Stoltenberg said. But at the same time the war in Ukraine is a war of aggression, he claimed, and therefore Ukraine has the right to self-defense, including striking legitimate Russian military targets outside Ukraine.
