Russia: If we see F16s in Ukraine we will take retaliatory measures
The Russian government has said it will be forced to take retaliatory measures if Western-made F-16 fighter jets appear in the skies over Ukraine.
The threat was raised by Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during an interview with RT TV channel late last week.
According to Lavrov, Russia has issued a "very serious note" regarding the possibility of F-16 planes being transferred to Kiev. He also said the fighter jets could be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to carry nuclear weapons and attack Russian forces.
“Now there is talk of F-16 aircraft which, in fact, can be equipped to carry nuclear weapons. We said it publicly,” Lavrov said. “Naturally… a military-technical response will follow.”
Shenyang J16
Fighter Jet Requests
Since the invasion began in February 2022, Ukrainian authorities have called for fighter jets to be sent to international allies to provide tactical air support to the front lines. President Volodymyr Zelensky has even stated that delays in sending fighter planes such as the F-16 could prolong the war and cause more damage.
Poland and Slovakia had already promised to send warplanes to Kiev "to protect civilians from the numerous bombs falling on their homes". But US President Joe Biden said earlier this year he would not send the required F-16 fighter jets to help Ukraine in its war against Russia.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price also told reporters that ground-based defense systems are much more effective at countering Russia's "formidable" air force. "We will continue to provide our Ukrainian partners with the surface-to-air systems they need to meet the threat of Russian missiles, Russian rockets and artillery," he said.
In the meantime, however, the USA has authorized the training of Ukrainian pilots on F 16s, a measure that would not make sense without the sale of the fighters.
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The article Russia: if we see F-16s in Ukraine we will take retaliatory measures comes from Scenari Economics .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/russia-se-vedremo-gli-f-16-in-ucraina-prenderemo-misure-di-ritorsione/ on Wed, 21 Jun 2023 07:00:11 +0000.