With the current Dutch government led by D’66s Rob Jetten, there will be no change in Dutch policy; on the contrary, it will get even worse. Join us on Telegram , Twitter , and VK . Contact us: info@strategic-culture.su Since August 2024, Dutch F-16s have been delivered to Ukraine, in addition to other European countries’ deliveries of F-16 fighter jets. Before they were delivered, which may have happened long before August 2024, the American magazine Politico wrote at the time that: “Ukraine can strike Russian targets with Dutch F-16s and how the Dutch position contrasts with Belgian policy, under which donated F-16s cannot be used by Kiev to hit targets inside Russia.”
This delivery of 24 Dutch F-16s took place under the American Biden regime, which fully supported the war in Ukraine against Russia. Naturally, we should have no illusions – and personally, I had none either – that peace would come with the arrival of the second Trump regime. There are too many hawks in the Pentagon and in the Trump regime itself who are bent on war with Russia.
The fact that Ukraine can attack Russia with F-16s supplied by the Netherlands effectively means that the Netherlands is also a party to the war in the conflict in Ukraine against Russia. There is also a very important element: Ukraine is not a member of NATO or the European Union (EU). Therefore, there is no actual obligation to help the country from NATO or European countries. Article 5 of NATO, for example, does not apply here because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and therefore the Netherlands is a party in the current war.
The supply of fighter jets (and other defense goods) from an EU member state to a country that is not a member of the EU or NATO is not automatically illegal, but it is heavily regulated. The debate at the time was significant in the Netherlands, and it has intensified since we learned that, as of early 2026, Dutch retired F-16 pilots are carrying out missions with the delivered 24 F-16 fighter jets. As they themselves indicate, over Ukraine; however, the problem is that the Netherlands, just like the EU and NATO, views the Donbas as Ukrainian territory, whereas officially, following a democratic referendum in September 2022, it has been officially Russian territory.
According to Dutch law: “Active Dutch Air Force pilots may not simply enter foreign military service; this can be considered desertion.” However, there is speculation regarding the deployment of “former pilots” or pilots who have left the service to fly these missions over what they call Ukraine but is Russia, which, according to Russian law, as I wrote, the Donbas is Russian territory.
Recently, in February 2026, the former Dutch Minister of Defence, Ruben Brekelmans, reported that it is not prohibited for Dutch nationals to fight in Ukrainian service, as long as they adhere to humanitarian international law. However, international humanitarian law is being “bent” on all sides to give it a semblance of legality, so that these “retired” pilots can simply fly missions. For, of course, according to the Dutch Constitution, it is prohibited to participate in foreign military service; Ukraine is “foreign military service,” and the Netherlands is officially not at war with Russia, as no official declaration of war has ever been issued.
The problem with Brekelmans and the current Dutch Minister of Defence, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, is that they have never studied anything in the field of defence, nor have they had anything to do with the laws of war, the armed forces, or defence at all. It is not their area of expertise; this trend of appointing the ’wrong’ people to positions requiring expertise and knowledge of the subject has been going on for years. Ursula von der Leyen (President of the EU) was also once Minister of Defence for Germany. “In principle, Dutch nationals are not permitted to enter foreign military service, certainly not when that armed force is at war with a state with which the Netherlands has a good relationship or is not officially at war. The Public Prosecution Service emphasizes that participation in a foreign conflict can be punishable under the Penal Code.” Furthermore: “Serving in a foreign armed force is prohibited in the Netherlands under Article 101 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes active service with a foreign power. Recruiting for such service is also punishable (Article 205 of the Criminal Code).” We can therefore conclude that the former and current Dutch governments are not upholding criminal law, since pilots – albeit “retired pilots” – are flying over likely Russian territory (Donbas) to, according to the Dutch government, shoot down “drones” that Russia is firing over the Donbas at Ukrainians. Of course, the Dutch government will claim – to cover its tracks – that these pilots are only deployed over Kiev – that is, of course, the official version, but in times of war, you have to see through official versions.
This illegal decision was taken by the previous Dutch government – Ruben Brekelmans being the Minister of Defence – to allow retired Dutch pilots to fly the delivered F-16s, given that F-16 pilot training is long and complicated, and moreover, Ukraine has and had only a few of these aircraft. Many Ukrainian pilots have already been killed while carrying out combat missions. This diminishes Ukraine’s capacity to defend its airspace. Furthermore, these were elite pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force and therefore, as one of the reasons, some EU countries started delivery with their old F-16s.
As is well known, these deliveries of F-16s have been underway since 2024 (or earlier the deployment of F-16s is actually an act of war against Russia. It was widely announced in the mainstream media, but also by the Dutch Defence Union, where Major General Stallmann heads the F-16 squadron. As early as July 2024, it became known that the Netherlands leads the international F-16 coalition for Ukraine. From July 1, 2024, Major General Arnoud Stallmann led the international F-16 coalition for Ukraine. The Netherlands, Denmark, and at the time the United States supported Ukraine in its defense against Russia by supplying F-16s, providing maintenance, and training pilots. Stallmann coordinates the delivery, maintenance, and training of pilots and support personnel. The financing of ammunition is also provided by the coalition.
If we look deeper into Arnoud Stallmann’s profile, he is actually not retired at all; the following can be read on his LinkedIn account and at the website of NATO :
“Norfolk, Virginia, United States · NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) Experience: NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) or Major General Arnoud Stallmann, Assistant Chief of Staff for Multi-Domain Capability at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation.”
So he is simply in the service of NATO and is therefore not a retired F-16 pilot or retired Major General. Of course, the government in The Hague will find a rule, or introduce a new law themselves, stating that being in the service of NATO is not the same as being in the Dutch armed forces. But the fact remains that he is a Dutchman, in the service of NATO, and, without an official declaration of war, leads a platoon of F-16s carrying out missions over Ukraine and/or Russia. Just like back then in Iraq and Syria, where Brekelmans recently had to apologize for ordering the murder of innocent civilians in Iraq; Hawija.
Ruben Brekelmans, former Minister of Defence, personally offered his apologies in Hawija for the airstrike on the Iraqi city in June 2015, before he resigned. The attack, which according to intelligence at the time was aimed at an Islamic State bomb factory, claimed dozens of lives. However, there was no bomb factory, but a garage in an industrial center of the city.
In principle, we can simply assume that NATO has long been involved in the war against Russia, even since mid-July 2022, when the supply of weapons from the U.S. and Europe began. The Netherlands, with its F-16 pilots – retired or not – is participating in a war without having officially issued a declaration of war. It may, as it turns out much later perhaps, also be guilty of violations of Humanitarian Law for having made “mistakes,” just like in Iraq or the many “mistakes” in Syria. The war that began against Russia in principle, and is now expanding and still raging, has been ongoing in the Middle East and West Asia since 2011. Also – and I want to emphasize this time and again despite the talk about peace – the U.S. is still involved in the war against Russia through NATO and the sale of American weapons to European countries, the EU.
With the current Dutch government led by D’66s Rob Jetten, there will be no change in Dutch policy; on the contrary, it will get even worse. The current Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, is an amateur who will be completely manipulated by the head of NATO, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and will carry out everything without questioning.
The only obstacle will be the global cessation of oil and gas as a result of the war in Iran and the Middle East, particularly for Europe. This will disrupt the coalition of the willing to such an extent that the EU will likely fall into a deep recession, simply because it will have an economic downfall. This obstacle will perhaps delay the war with Russia, but the radicalized EU politicians will never give up their desire and agenda to divide and destroy Russia.