A government official from the Netherlands said Thursday his country would consider supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets should Kyiv make such a request.
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra made the statement on the jets during a parliamentary debate, according to Dutch website NL Times. Hoekstra reportedly said the Dutch cabinet would “openly consider” a request for F-16s, adding that there would be “no taboos” on supplying regular equipment to the eastern European country.
John Spencer, a retired U.S. Army major and chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Madison Policy Forum, told Newsweek on Friday that the addition of F-16s to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s armed forces is having a palpable impact at a time would, in which the Russian forces have done recent gains on the battlefield.
“It would give Ukraine what it doesn’t have now, which is a much larger air force capability,” Spencer said. “It would be a great asset for Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seen during a news conference January 11 in Lviv, Ukraine. Inset, a Dutch F-16 fighter jet returning to a military airfield on June 30, 2016. On Thursday, a Dutch official said the country would consider giving Ukraine F-16s if Kyiv asks for it. Photos by Stanislav Ivanovs/Global Images Ukraine/ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AFP/Getty Images
Hoekstra’s comments on the F-16s came the same day Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said the Netherlands was willing to foot the bill for sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of a coalition of allies.
“That’s definitely something we would be willing to do,” Ollongren told Bloomberg News of such a plan regarding the leopards. “We are all waiting to hear what the German position is on this, but I am in favor of finding a solution and trying to send tanks to Ukraine.”
Her comments on Germany related to a meeting Friday at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The US-led meeting of Ukraine’s allies discussed military support for Zelenskyy, and the topic of the German-made Leopard 2 tanks was one of the main topics of discussion.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III told reporters on Friday that the meeting ended with Germany still undecided on whether or not to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
However, if a deal goes through with the Netherlands for F-16s, Spencer says Ukraine would at least get a formidable airborne weapon.
“F-16s have a multi-role platform. They can provide close air support and air superiority,” Spencer said.
He added that having a government official float the idea of such a bid did not mean a plan had been drawn up, noting that last year the US rejected a plan by Poland to add MiG-29 fighter jets to one to relocate a US base in Germany.
If the F-16 deal goes through, Spencer said the fighter jets “would be a great addition to their capabilities, especially in preparation for the spring offensive.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Dutch Foreign Ministry for comment.