NL Times: Netherlands to consider supplying Ukraine with F-16 aircraft

A picture shows F-16 fighter jets during the NATO international air force exercise Frisian Flag, at Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands, on March 28, 2022. (JEFFREY GROENEWEG/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

The Dutch government will look into providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets if Kyiv asks for it, NL Times reported, citing the country's Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra. During a parliamentary debate on Jan. 19, Hoekstra said that the Dutch Cabinet would consider such a request with an "open mind."

During his speech at the Ramstein-8 meeting in Germany on Jan. 20, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked partners to give Ukraine longer-range missiles and F-16 fighters, according to Sky News. Ukraine's allies have been reluctant to supply these Western-made fighter jets so far. 

The Netherlands is also willing to pay for Leopard 2 tanks to be sent to Ukraine by other countries, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told Bloomberg on Jan. 19. 

According to Zelensky, Poland, Finland, Portugal, Spain, and some other countries claimed their readiness to provide German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but they need permission for the equipment transfer from Germany.

Berlin has refused to send modern tanks to Ukraine, fearing "escalation." Germany promised to announce its final decision on the Leopard tanks' delivery at the 8th summit of Ukraine's defense partners at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany, on Jan. 20.