Putin vows to shoot down US F-16 fighter jets if sent to Ukraine

Potential supplies of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will not change the situation on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 27, vowing that the Russian military will destroy them the same way it destroyed Western tanks and other vehicles of Kiev forces.

If they supply F-16 jets, they say that pilots are being trained, it will not change the situation on the battlefield. And we will destroy warplanes as we are destroying tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons, including multiple launch missile systems,” he said at a meeting with military pilots in the Tver Region.

In addition, Putin noted that Russia will take into account the fact that F-16 fighter jets can deliver tactical nuclear weapons.

“F-16 jets can carry nuclear weapons. And we must take this into account while planning [combat operations],” he said.