Since the US-made F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine are equipped to carry atomic weapons, Russia has issued a warning that it will view them as a “nuclear threat.”
The United States is allegedly planning to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but Washington has not yet authorized any nation to do so, according to remarks made by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday.
“Russia cannot disregard the capability of these aircraft to transport nuclear weapons. No amount of assurances will help in this situation, Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Russian foreign ministry.
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The top diplomat for Russia added, “In the course of combat operations, our servicemen are not going to sort out whether each specific aircraft of this type is equipped to deliver nuclear weapons or not.”
As part of an 11-nation coalition, Poland, the Netherlands, and Denmark are in charge of a plan to train Ukrainian pilots on how to operate the US-made aircraft. After receiving US approval, the program is reportedly set to launch in Denmark in August.
Lavrov added, “We will view the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces possess such systems as a nuclear threat from the West.
Last month, he had issued a similar warning, urging Western nations not to send an advanced American warplane to the former Soviet republic.
“We must keep in mind that one of the F-16’s modifications has the ability to deliver nuclear weapons. They are useless as military strategists and planners if they don’t comprehend this, Lavrov said on June 6.
Initially, US President Joe Biden had stated that his nation would not give Ukraine the jets. However, he informed the G7 leaders in Japan in May that Washington was ready to assist in the F-16 fighter jet pilot training for the Ukrainians.
The US-made F-16 is at the top of Ukraine’s wish list because the country primarily uses outdated Soviet-era aircraft.
The US-led NATO, as the military alliance, has reverted to “Cold War schemes,” the Russian foreign ministry declared in a statement on Thursday.
As a result, Moscow is ready to respond to threats by “all means” necessary.”
The ministry also emphasized that the outcome of the NATO meeting would be “carefully analyzed” for threats to the security of the Russian Federation.
The statement continued, “We will respond in a timely and appropriate manner, using all means and methods at our disposal, taking into account the challenges and threats to Russia’s security and interests that have been identified.”
The Kremlin’s strong response came just one day after Biden said, at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Lithuania on Wednesday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “craven lust for land and power” and that he had gravely miscalculated the resolve of NATO’s support for Ukraine.
Putin “bet NATO would break apart,” according to the US president when he began the military operation in Ukraine, but he was mistaken, he said at the conclusion of the two-day summit in Vilnius.”
“NATO is stronger, more vibrant, and yes, more united than it has ever been. More crucial, in fact, to our shared future, the American president continued.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, US media has frequently covered the US’s delivery of weapons to strengthen Kyiv’s military forces, along with tens of billions of dollars worth of additional military assistance from other NATO members.
By January, the US and its allies had given Ukraine more than 100 million rounds of ammunition for small arms, more than a million rounds of artillery shells, and more than 100,000 rounds for tanks.
Russia views the Western invasion of Ukraine with weapons as a fruitless attempt to influence the course of the conflict. Moscow asserts that giving Kyiv more weapons will only increase the death toll, increase destruction, and prolong the conflict.
