Ukraine’s armed forces on Monday thanked the country it said “famously conquered the sea” for helping it defeat Russia through military aid packages it provided to Kyiv.

“The land that famously defeated the sea will help us defeat our enemy. Thank you, Netherlands!”, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said in a post on its Twitter page, in which it released a video showing various equipment and weapons that the government of the Netherlands is providing or promising to the Ukrainian army.

“PS And you know, we would really appreciate it [avioane] F-16!”, added the Ministry of Defense in Kyiv, referring to the possibility of sending combat aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The American website Politico wrote last week, citing several diplomatic and military officials, that some of Ukraine’s NATO partners have begun to actively discuss sending military aircraft to Kyiv, an initiative that the Baltic states will strongly support.

The Netherlands is ready to send F-16 to Ukraine

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra has already told his country’s parliament that Mark Rutte’s government will consider sending F-16s to Ukraine if Kyiv requests it. “We are open, there are no taboos,” he said.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with the Canadian CBC TV channel on Sunday that after the supply of modern tanks from the West, Kyiv now hopes to receive military aircraft that can turn the tide of war.

“For me, everything that is impossible today (will be) possible tomorrow,” Reznikov said, referring to the supply of fighter jets. On January 20, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked allies to send long-range missiles and F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said on Friday that it will take Ukrainian pilots “about six months” to master the F-16 multirole fighter.

But the administration of US President Joe Biden is currently opposed to sending fighter jets to Ukrainian forces, which is also facing strong opposition from Berlin.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly stressed in recent days that Germany will not send fighter jets to Ukraine, after officially confirming last Wednesday that his government would send Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev and that he would authorize all transfers to allied countries that want them back. for the supply of these main battle tanks to the Ukrainian army.

The Netherlands is one of the countries that has already expressed its willingness to send Leopard tanks to Kyiv, as Mark Rutte’s government promised in December that its support for Ukraine would increase to 2.5 billion euros this year.

But not the entire amount is allocated for the supply of military equipment, Rutte clarified that the support will depend on the development of the war.

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