Ukraine banned from using Belgian F-16s to strike on Russian territory, PM says

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo (Getty Images)

Ukraine will not be able to strike at Russian territory with the F-16 fighter jets that Belgium will provide, says Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo at a press conference.

"Everything that is included in our agreement is clearly spelled out there, the Ukrainian Armed Forces can use it on Ukrainian territory," he said.

Ukraine asks to strike at Russian territory

Ukraine is calling on its Western partners to allow using the weapons they have provided to strike targets in Russia. It refers mostly to long-range missiles that the United States, France, and the UK have given to Ukraine. These missiles could be used to strike groups of Russian troops concentrated near the Ukrainian border.

However, most NATO countries do not support the idea of strikes on Russian territory by Western weapons.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently called on allied countries that supply weapons to Ukraine to lift the ban on striking military targets in Russia.

NATO Parliamentary Assembly called on the allies to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons against military targets in Russia.