Netherlands ready to consider F-16 fighters and Leopard 2 tanks supply to Ukraine
In case of a corresponding request, the Netherlands is ready to consider transferring F-16 fighters to Ukraine and help with Leopard 2 tanks.
The NL Times reports.
"The government of the Netherlands will consider the possibility of supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets if the Kyiv government asks for it," the statement reads.
During a parliamentary debate on Thursday, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said that the government would consider such a request "openly."
In Davos, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren also said that the Netherlands was ready to help pay for modern Leopard 2 tanks that other countries are sending to Ukraine. After all, there are many fears that russia will launch another major offensive in the coming months.
According to Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, the Netherlands sends only what Ukraine requests. Kyiv currently needs mainly heavy weapons. The country has been asking for modern battle tanks for a long time. Poland and Finland want to send German Leopard 2 tanks, but they need Germany's permission.
The German government is under intense pressure to allow these tanks to go to Ukraine.
The country's Defense Minister, Kajsa Ollongren, noted that her government had previously paid for the shipment of Soviet T-72 tanks from the Czech Republic to Kyiv. This approach could be replicated for the German-made Leopard tanks.
Reference
The Netherlands is considering transferring the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
The Netherlands is considering sending Patriots to Ukraine, joining the US and Germany in bolstering the Ukrainian military's air defense arsenal, which is essential in the fight against russia's invasion.
