Russia warns Ukraine’s F-16s to be treated as nuclear threat
The Russian government is warning Ukraine that Kyiv’s new fleet of F-16 fighter jets will be treated as a “nuclear-capable” threat.
Ukraine’s military said last week that it would begin operating the US-made jets as soon as Monday. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Ilya Yevlash said that the planes would be ready for battle after Orthodox Easter, which was Sunday.
According to Newsweek, the F-16s—provided by Western allies including Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium—will represent a much-needed update to Ukraine’s aging fleet of largely Soviet-made aircraft that have been battered and depleted after more than two years of combat.
Regardless, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Ukraine in a statement on Monday that it “cannot ignore” the possibility that the planes could have the capability of delivering nuclear weapons.
“No matter what modification of the aircraft will be supplied [to Ukraine] we will treat them as nuclear-capable and we will consider this step of the United States and NATO as a purposeful provocation,” it continues.
Read More : Russia threatens to strike British targets “Anywhere”
The Russian government argues that French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion of NATO troops intervening in the Russia-Ukraine war means that the West is “deliberately trying to turn the Ukrainian crisis into an open military clash between NATO countries and Russia,” according to Russian-state news agency Sputnik.