Moscow: NATO fighters in Ukraine are considered legitimate targets

According to the report of Fars News Agency International Group, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that Moscow will not hesitate to destroy the American-made F-16 fighter jets sent to Kiev.

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Zakharova said in a daily press conference on Wednesday that Russia knows that the West will soon provide advanced fighters to Ukraine, the first of which is expected to be delivered next year.

He added, “A significant part of Ukraine’s airport infrastructure has been destroyed, and American fighters may operate from airports outside the country, including Poland, Slovakia, and Romania.” ».

This senior Russian diplomat warned that the Russian armed forces consider these fighters participating in the conflict as legitimate targets for destruction. He stated that “delivery of F-16 fighter jets in the future will drown NATO more in the conflict in Ukraine”, and emphasized that “the military bloc led by the United States has actually launched a hybrid war against Russia under the guise of saving Ukraine”.

Ukraine has long requested advanced jets from the West, arguing that they are vital to counter Russian air superiority. In May, after months of hesitation, Britain and the Netherlands announced an “international coalition” to help Kiev procure F-16s.

Previously, the United States was not willing to send advanced weapons to Ukraine, because it was worried that this issue would fuel tensions in Ukraine and bring the West into conflict with Russia; But over time, he changed his mind and agreed to send Patriot air defenses, Abrams tanks and cluster munitions to Ukraine.

It was in August that America paved the way for Denmark and the Netherlands to provide these fighters to Kiev, and also gave permission to European countries to train Ukrainian pilots. In October, Belgium also announced that it will provide an undisclosed number of these fighters to Ukraine from 2025.

America has also joined this effort by training a small number of Ukrainian pilots on its soil, and about 200 military personnel are also going to be trained in the maintenance of these fighters.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kolba said that all political decisions regarding the delivery of these fighters have been made and will be sent to Ukraine as soon as all technical issues are resolved. Earlier, the head of NATO’s military committee said that Ukraine will not receive F-16 fighter jets until the end of the counterattack operation against Russian forces. He clarified that it is impossible to train Ukrainian pilots and technical specialists, as well as to create a logistics organization to provide these planes to Kiev, before this counterattack.

Despite Sending massive equipment from Western countries to Ukraine, Kiev’s counterattacks against Russian positions, which it had been promoting for a long time, have not been successful. Russia has repeatedly warned the West about arming Ukraine. And the foreign minister of this country, Sergei Lavrov, said that Moscow considers the F-16 a “nuclear threat” because of the capacity of these fighters to carry nuclear weapons.

“Sergei Shoigu”, the Minister of Defense of Russia, recently said that Russian air defense systems can shoot down all the F-16 fighter jets promised by the West to Ukraine in 20 days.

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