Russia has no plans to attack any NATO country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic, but if the West supplies F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, then they will be shot down by Russian forces, Vladimir Putin said.
Addressing Russian air force pilots, Putin said the US-led military alliance has expanded eastward into Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, but that Moscow has no plans to attack a NATO state.
“We have no aggressive intentions towards these states. The idea that we are going to attack another country Poland, the Baltic states and the Czechs are also scared – it is total nonsense. It’s just stupid,” Putin said.
The Kremlin, which accuses the US of fighting against Russia by supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence, he says relations with Washington have probably never been worse. 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’re going to provide F-16s, and they’re talking about it and they’re apparently training pilots, that’s not going to change the situation on the battlefield. And we will destroy planes as we destroy tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment today, including multiple missile launchers. Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become legitimate targets for us, wherever they are,” continued Vladimir Putin.
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His comments followed statements made earlier on Wednesday by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who said the planes would arrive in Ukraine in the coming months.
Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands are among the countries that have pledged to donate F-16s.
