Russia has no designs on any NATO country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states, or the Czech Republic, but if the West supplies F-16 fighters to Ukraine, then they will be shot down by Russian forces, President Vladimir Putin said late on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Speaking to Russian air force pilots, Putin said the US-led military alliance had expanded eastwards towards Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union but that Moscow had no plans to attack a NATO state.
“We have no aggressive intentions towards these states,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript released on Thursday.
“The idea that we will attack some other country – Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared – is complete nonsense. It’s just drivel.”
The Kremlin, which accuses the US of fighting against Russia by supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence, says relations with Washington have probably never been worse.
Asked about F-16 fighters which the West has promised to send to Ukraine, Putin said such aircraft would not change the situation in Ukraine.
“If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield,” Putin said.
“We will destroy their warplanes just as we destroy their tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers,” Putin said in comments to military pilots during a visit to an air base late Wednesday.
Putin said that F-16 could also carry nuclear weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine’s Western allies against providing air bases in their countries from where the F-16s could launch sorties against the Kremlin’s forces, saying those bases would be a “legitimate target.” The F-16s require a high standard of runways and reinforced hangars to protect them when they are on the ground, AP News reports.
Putin’s remarks followed comments earlier in the day by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that the aircraft should arrive in Ukraine in the coming months.
Ukraine, now more than two years into a full-fledged war against Russia, has sought F-16s for many months.
Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands are among countries which have pledged to donate F-16s. A coalition of countries has promised to help train Ukrainian pilots in their use.
The regular bombardment of Ukraine by the Kremlin’s forces during the war has recently gained momentum, with missile barrages of the capital Kyiv and strikes on energy facilities across the country. The attacks also aim to weaken Ukrainian morale and act as retribution for Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian soil, according to AP News.
One of Russia’s goals is to “deplete Ukraine’s inventory of ground-based air defense,” according to a recent military assessment published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
That would erode some of Ukraine’s combat ability as it waits on pledged but delayed military support from the West, including ammunition for its artillery and air defenses.