On March 28, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has no plans to attack any NATO country. However, he cautioned that Moscow’s forces could target NATO bases if they host F-16 fighter jets conducting combat sorties in Ukraine. “We have no aggressive intentions toward NATO states,” Putin emphasized to air force pilots at a facility in the Tver region northwest of Moscow, as per a Kremlin transcript.
His statement categorically dismisses any notion that Russia would engage in hostile actions towards countries like Poland, the Baltic states, and the Czech Republic as nothing but “complete nonsense.” He goes on to emphasize that such claims are fabricated to manipulate the populace and compel them to allocate more resources.
Ukraine eagerly anticipates the delivery of F-16 fighter jets from Western countries, which have made promises to provide Kyiv with a minimum of 42 aircraft. Ukrainian pilots have dedicated significant time and effort to training in Western nations for months, honing their skills to master the operation of these advanced warplanes.
The obstacle to that has been pointed out many times. The transition from Su-27 and MiG-29s to the F-16 takes years because of the difference in cockpit configurations. While the Ukrainians can be trained to fly the F-16, under the stress of combat, they’ll fall back on the training they’ve been ingrained with and have slower reaction times.
When questioned about the possibility of Russian pilots targeting F-16 warplanes stationed at airfields in NATO countries if they were to engage in combat missions against Russia, Putin made it clear that Moscow would view them as legitimate targets. His statement implies that if F-16s from these locations were to participate in military operations in Ukraine, they would be considered fair game by the Russian military.
Putin’s stance raises concerns about the potential escalation of conflicts in these countries. It would be the same if these locations were launching missiles from their home soil against Russia.
F-16s delivered to Ukraine are to be housed at Ukrainian air bases. However, it remains unclear how many Ukrainian air bases can accommodate F-16s, which require high-quality runways and well-protected, well-camouflaged hangars. These are currently at a premium in Ukraine because Russian missiles are destroying them.
In Ukraine, Putin said that Russia would seek to destroy the F-16s “the same way we destroy their tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment today, including multiple-launch rocket systems.” He asserted that the delivery of the warplanes to Ukraine “will not change the situation on the battlefield.”
Putin’s assurance that Russia has “no aggressive intentions” against NATO should give NATO countries something to think about because member states are openly flaunting their involvement in the Ukrainian war and bringing in the F-16s if they are based outside Ukraine almost guarantees legitimate attacks on those airfields.
Before Russia was forced to intervene in Ukraine in February 2022 because Zelenskyy walked away from the Minsk Agreements and was days away from a full-scale genocidal action against civilians in Donbass, every step was taken to maintain peace and provide guarantees of the Donbass region’s reintegration with Ukraine.
How many red lines should European countries walk across in their effort to get the US military involved in Ukraine?
George Eliason
