If Poland, Romania and Slovakia would send the fighters into the air F16 from their air bases to assign them to them War in Ukrainethen that is Russia will consider these countries as participants in the conflict. The warning was issued by the head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna negotiations on military security and arms control. Konstantin Gavrilov, who spoke at the plenary session of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation. In that case, the senior Kremlin official said, Moscow was ready to take unspecified measures Retaliation. The possibility that the tug-of-war between Vladimir Putin and Kiev could affect other nations is again gaining traction, leading to an unexpected escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation.
Moscow's warning
The message from the Russian Federation is clear: Moscow will consider the possible deployment of F-16 fighter jets from air bases Poland, Romania And Slovakia as involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. “We warn that the use of these aircraft from the territory of these NATO member states will be viewed by Moscow as participation in the conflict in Ukraine and will force Russia to take retaliatory measures,” Garvilov said, Russian agency Ria Novosti reported.
As the diplomat noted, opinions increasingly emerged that F-16s transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces could take off in conditions of significant destruction of airfields in the post-Soviet republic Air force bases in Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Gavrilov therefore noted that “the United States and its satellites” continue to create security threats on Russia’s western borders.
The United States They benefited from NATO's involvement in the events in Ukraine, Gavrilov said. He added that the aggressive nature of Western policy is no longer hidden behind formulations of exclusively defensive military doctrines. “State national and coalition policies Born “They are consolidating claims to global and regional dominance, which they want to achieve through military force,” Gavrilov said.
The F-16 in the Kremlin's sights
Speaking of the F-16, a few days ago the Ukrainian Defense Minister said: Rustem Umerovduring a joint press conference in Kiev with his Latvian counterpart, Andris Spruds, explained that Ukraine is considering purchasing not only the aforementioned F-16, but also other fighter aircraft that could be used in the conflict with Moscow. “In the short term, we will focus on the F-16 platforms. In the medium term, we will also analyze different platforms because we want to be one step ahead of our enemy. The issue of F-16, F-19, F-22, F-25 and other platforms constantly arises,” Umerov explained, adding that such dossiers are discussed around the clock.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro KulebaHowever, he recently made it known that the Coalition for the Training of Ukrainian pilots As for the deployment of future F-16s, a coalition of 13 countries and Ukraine is working to “increase the number of aircraft to be transferred to Kyiv.” At the moment it is therefore Training phases of the pilots and maintenance personnel of the future aircraft that will be delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Recall that Ukraine will receive 42 F-16s Netherlands19 of Denmark and an unknown number of aircraft Norway and from Belgium. However, deliveries are not expected to take place until 2025, according to Brussels, while some US analysts have doubts about the real impact these vehicles can have on the battlefield.