Western countries “still cling to the escalation scenario” that poses a risk of the Ukraine war escalating in Europe, says the deputy foreign minister.
Western countries would be taking “colossal risks” by supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, says a Russian official.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko on Saturday responded to a question about the implications of Ukraine’s request for the provision of the jets from NATO countries, the TASS news agency reported.
Ukraine has yet to receive any pledges to deliver the planes, but US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian F-16 pilots, senior US officials said .
“We see that the western countries continue to cling to the escalation scenario. It poses enormous risks for themselves,” Grushko was quoted as saying.
“In any case, this is taken into account in all our planning and we have all the necessary means to achieve the set goals.”
Alexandre Vautravers, editor-in-chief of Swiss Military Review, said Moscow is unlikely to allow the situation to escalate despite Russia’s warning.
“Every time a new weapon system has been handed over to Ukraine, we have heard a lot of rhetoric – but very little action from Russia,” he told Al Jazeera from Geneva. “I believe today’s rhetoric is not a sufficient deterrent.”
Vautravers added that Kiev also faces important technical issues that need to be resolved for the F-16 fighter jets.
“Ukraine’s air defense missiles are quickly running out, and it is necessary to use these aircraft to fill the gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses,” he said.
“Improvement needed”
For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been demanding the delivery of advanced fighter jets to help defend Ukraine against Russian invasion.
But the Ukrainian leader has so far met resentment from his Western allies, who feared that providing Ukraine with advanced offensive weapons could lead to an escalation by Russian President Vladimir Putin and a widening of the war in Europe.
Zelenskyy thanked British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his contribution at the G7 summit in Japan on Saturday
Assisted in forming a coalition to supply Western warplanes.
“We need to improve [Ukraine’s] Air defense capabilities, including training our pilots,” Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram channel.
The green light for F-16 training is the latest move by the Biden administration to equip Ukraine with more advanced and deadly weapons, after earlier deciding to send missile launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The United States insists on sending arms to Ukraine to defend itself and has discouraged attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory.
Biden’s decisions about when, how many and who will deploy the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets will be made during pilot training in the coming months, he said.