Lavrov says Russia will respond to F-16 deliveries to Ukraine
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia’s military is capable of reacting to the deliveries of Western F-16 warplanes to Ukraine.
The United States and its allies in Western Europe have already announced plans to launch training programs for Ukrainian pilots to fly the US-made fighter jets.
Lavrov, who was speaking at a press conference in Kenya on Monday, said Denmark and the Netherlands had a “desire to please the hegemon” in planning to train Ukrainian pilots.
“In European affairs and at European forums, these countries are actively pursuing Washington’s line, first and foremost,” the Russian foreign minister stated.
In recent weeks, an international coalition has been formed to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which is in a desperate need of upgrading its air force with advanced warplanes.
A number of countries have volunteered to host the training of Ukrainian pilots. Poland, a neighbor to Ukraine and one of its biggest supporters, has said for months it is ready for the training.
Earlier, Russia had warned against sending the aircraft. Moscow believes the move raises the question of NATO’s direct military involvement in the war.
Initially, President Joe Biden had said the United States would not provide Ukraine with the jets. Earlier this month, however, the US president told leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Japan that Washington was prepared to help train the Ukrainian pilots of F-16 fighter jets.
Lavrov did not specify how Russia would respond to the deliveries. He only said he had “no doubt that our armed forces have the ability to react to this.”
A day earlier, he had warned that the US and its allies were “playing with fire” by boosting their support for Kiev. The Russian foreign minister said the F-16 episode was “an unacceptable escalation.”
“I think there are reasonable people in the West who understand this. But everything is being dictated by Washington, London, and their satellites inside the EU.”
Ukraine, which largely operates aged Soviet-era warplanes, has placed the US-made F-16 at the top of its wish list.
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