The date for the delivery of the first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is not yet certain – there is speculation that it could be in June or July – but Russian President Vladimir Putin is confident that this will not change anything on the battlefield. . And, despite rejecting the idea that Russia could attack any NATO country, he warns that the air bases used by Ukrainian F-16s to attack Russian forces will be a “legitimate target” for Moscow.
“If they deliver the F-16s, and they are talking about it and allegedly training the pilots, I think they will know better than others that this will not change the situation on the battlefield,” Putin said on Wednesday, during a visit to the Tver airbase, where Russian combat pilots receive training. “And we will destroy these planes just as we destroyed tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple launch rocket systems,” he said.
But the Russian president didn’t stop there. “Of course, if they are used from air bases in third countries, they become a legitimate target for us, wherever they are located,” he warned. “The F-16s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and we will also have to take that into consideration when organizing our combat operations,” he added.
Putin admits the possibility of attacking bases outside Ukraine where fighters supplied by the West to Kiev are located, if these are used to launch attacks against Russian forces. This is despite rejecting any intention to attack NATO countries. “We have no intention of aggression,” Putin said. “The idea that we will attack another country, Poland, the Baltic States or the Czechs are also being scared, is complete nonsense. It’s a joke,” he added.
The US and allies have warned that Russia could turn to other countries if it is not stopped in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president himself, Volodymyr Zelensky, has used this argument to ask for more help from the West, reiterating it in an interview with the North American broadcaster CBS released yesterday. “Right now, it’s us, then Kazakhstan, then the Baltic States, then Poland, then Germany. At least half of Germany,” he said, wanting to pressure Congress to release blocked support for Kiev. “This aggression, and Putin’s army, can reach Europe and then US citizens, US soldiers, will have to protect Europe because they are members of NATO,” he added.
