The transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would raise the question of NATO\u2019s involvement in the conflict, Russia\u2019s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has said.
\n\u201cThere is no infrastructure for the operation of the F-16 in Ukraine and the needed number of pilots and maintenance personnel is not there either,\u201d Antonov said in remarks published on the embassy\u2019s Telegram messaging channel on Monday.
\n\u201cWhat will happen if the American fighters take off from NATO airfields, controlled by foreign \u2018volunteers\u2019?\u201d
\nUkraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has for months been calling on the country\u2019s Western allies to supply advanced fighter jets amid concerns such a move would be met with an escalation by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
\nBut amid a flurry of diplomacy by Zelenskyy ahead of the just-concluded G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced last week they had agreed to build an \u201cinternational coalition\u201d to provide fighter jet support for Ukraine.
\nThen on Friday, US President Joe Biden endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, with Zelenskyy assuring Biden that the aircraft would not be used to go into Russian territory.
\nOver the weekend, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned Western countries would be running \u201ccolossal risks\u201d if they went ahead with the supply of the F-16s.
\nAntonov said that any Ukrainian attack on Crimea, which Moscow invaded and annexed in 2014, would be considered an attack on Russia.
\n\u201cIt is important that the United States be fully aware of the Russian response,\u201d Antonov said.
\nThe international community does not recognise Russian sovereignty over Crimea.Air defence experts say US-built F-16 fighter jets would offer Ukraine an edge over the Russian air force, but only if combined with powerful missiles and targeting information, which the West would also have to provide and which would risk drawing Ukraine\u2019s Western allies more actively into the war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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