Vladimir Putin: We will not attack Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic / We have no aggressive intentions

Russia has no plans against any NATO country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic, Vladimir Putin said, according to Reuters. The statement of the leader from the Kremlin on Wednesday evening was followed on Thursday morning by one of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, which accused NATO of preparing for a confrontation with Russia, bringing as an example the modernization of the Romanian air base from Mihail Kogălniceanu.

Addressing Russian air force pilots, Putin said the US-led military alliance had expanded eastward into Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, 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 Thursday.

“The idea that we are going to attack another country – Poland, the Baltic states and the Czechs are also scared – is total nonsense. It’s just stupid,” he added.

• It should be mentioned, in context, that before the launch of the invasion in Ukraine, high-ranking officials in Moscow vehemently rejected information indicating that such a thing would follow, with Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov bluntly stating several times that ” Russia will not attack anyone”.

Putin: F-16s could carry nuclear weapons

Asked about the F-16 fighter jets that the West has promised to send to Ukraine, Putin said that such devices will not change the situation in Ukraine: “If they provide F-16 jets, and they talk about it, and it seems that they are training pilots, this will not change things on the battlefield,” Putin said.

“And we will destroy planes as we destroy tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment today, including multiple missile launchers.”

Putin said the F-16 could also carry nuclear weapons. “Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they are,” Putin said.

Putin’s statements came after, also on Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the F-16 should arrive in Ukraine in the coming months. Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands are among the countries that have pledged to donate F-16s. A coalition of countries has pledged to help train Ukrainian pilots for them.

Russia says NATO is preparing for war

NATO’s activities in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region are intended to prepare the allies for a possible clash with Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow stated for RIA Novosti, giving the example of plans to modernize the Mihail Kogălniceanu base in Romania.

“The expansion of the Romanian air base is yet another proof that the North Atlantic bloc continues its unlimited militarization of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region,” the ministry led by Sergei Lavrov told the Russian press agency.

The Mihail Kogălniceanu air base, one of the main military bases of the Romanian Army, but also the place where there is the largest American military presence on the territory of Romania, will be modernized in an extensive program of almost 2.5 billion lei until 2030.