NATO continues to militarily support Ukraine with the arrival of the first batch of F-16 fighter jets, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, with the Telegraph adding the aircraft had made their first flights in an “air defense” capacity. 

So far, Kiev has received six jets from the Netherlands and is awaiting another batch from Denmark, according to The Times. 

Former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced that the previous cabinet permitted the export of 24 fighter jets to Ukraine, with the current Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans highlighting in last week’s NATO summit in Washington that the aircraft were expected to arrive in Ukrainian airspace shortly.

Russia’s response to NATO’s military aid

Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Vladimir Tarabrin informed RIA Novosti that Moscow perceives this decision as an intentional move by Amsterdam to escalate the war with Ukraine and further destabilize the situation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that any cargo containing military aid for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia, a message Moscow had previously delivered to NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the ongoing two-year conflict with Ukraine sought to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years," highlighting the ultimate objectives are to liberate Donbass and ensure Russia's security through specific conditions with Ukraine. 

Blinken confirms F-16s transfer from Denmark, Netherlands to Ukraine

On July 10, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the transfer of F-16 fighter jets from Europe to Ukraine was underway "coming from Denmark, coming from the Netherlands, and those jets will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression."

Moscow claims F-16s will not change the war's outcome, just as other Western weapons have failed to do. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated earlier this year that the Russian military would destroy the planes, as it has done with other Ukrainian hardware.

The decision by Washington and its allies to provide Ukraine with Western-made heavy armor in early 2023, such as US-made Abrams tanks and German-made Leopard tanks, prompted Russian businesses and officials to offer rewards for capturing or destroying this equipment on the frontline.

FORES, a private company, announced on July 17 that there is a substantial reward for the first Russian soldier to destroy a US-made F-16 fighter jet. The company has previously offered bounties for Western equipment destroyed by the Russian military.

“There will be a reward for destroying the F-15 and F-16 fighter jets,” FORES' deputy CEO, Ilya Potanin, said in a video published by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday.