The Netherlands is allowing Ukraine to use the F-16 fighter jets it will soon deliver to Kyiv against targets located inside Russian territory. Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruyns-Slot made the approval clear at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on May 31. “If you have the right to self-defense, there are no limits to the use of weapons…. This is a general principle,” she said, according to Ukraine’s Radio Svoboda. The minister declared that the use of Western aircraft over the territory of Russia is covered by Article 51a of the UN Charter, which grants the right to self-defense.
Together with other countries, the Netherlands has promised Ukraine several dozen F-16 fighter jets. Pilots are currently being trained on the aircraft and it could be possible to deploy them by the end of the year.
