Russian President Vladimir Putin declared late Wednesday night that his country had no plans for any NATO country or intentions to attack Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic, according to Russian media.
Putin also warned that if the West supplied Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, they would be shot down by Russian forces. Speaking to Russian air force pilots, the president claimed that the US-led military alliance had expanded eastwards to Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, reiterating that Moscow had no plans to attack any NATO state.
We have no aggressive intentions towards these states. The idea that we will attack some other country — Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared — is complete nonsense.
Responding to the question about the F-16 jets that the West had promised to send to Ukraine, Putin noted that such aircraft would not change the overall situation.
“If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield. And we will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers.”
The president stated that if the F-16s were deployed from third-country airfields, they would become “legitimate targets wherever they might be located”. His statements followed comments earlier in the day by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that the jets 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 as well as help with training Ukrainian pilots.
