BRUSSELS, June 3. /TASS/. The Netherlands intends to hand over 24 F-16 fighter jets to the Kiev regime to be used for strikes on Russian targets, acting Dutch defense minister Kajsa Ollongren said.

"We are applying the same principle that we have applied to every other delivery of capabilities, which is once we hand it over to Ukraine, it’s theirs to use," she told Politico. According to her, the Netherlands is not introducing restrictions on the use of fighter jets as opposed to its neighbor Belgium.

"We only ask them to comply to international law and the right to self-defense as stated in the UN Charter, which means they use it to target the military goals they need to target in their self-defense," the official added.

On May 31, the White House press pool reported that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told US President Joe Biden that he would not allow the use of Belgian weapons, including the F-16s, outside of Ukraine.

Earlier, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on his Telegram channel that Moscow proceeded from the fact that all long-range weapons supplied to Ukraine were already "directly operated by servicemen from NATO countries," which is tantamount to participation in the war against Russia and a reason to start combat operations.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that NATO will be held responsible for Ukraine delivering strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons.