4h ago
08.45 GMT
Russia will not attack Nato countries, Putin says
Russia has
no designs on any Nato country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states or
the Czech Republic but if the west supplies F-16 fighters to Ukraine then they
will be shot down by Russian forces, president Vladimir Putin said late on
Wednesday, reports news agency Reuters.
Speaking to
Russian air force pilots, Putin said the US-led military alliance had expanded
eastwards towards Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union but that
Moscow had no plans to attack a Nato state.
“We have no
aggressive intentions towards these states,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin
transcript released on Thursday.
“The idea
that we will attack some other country – Poland, the Baltic States, and the
Czechs are also being scared – is complete nonsense. It’s just drivel.”
The
Kremlin, which accuses the US of fighting against Russia by supporting Ukraine
with money, weapons and intelligence, says relations with Washington have
probably never been worse, reports Reuters.
Asked about
F-16 fighters which the west has promised to send to Ukraine, Putin said such
aircraft would not change the situation in Ukraine. “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,” Putin said.
“And we will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy
today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket
launchers.”
Putin said
that F-16 could also carry nuclear weapons.
“Of course,
if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us
legitimate targets, wherever they might be located,” Putin said.
Putin’s
remarks followed comments earlier in the day by Ukrainian foreign minister
Dmytro Kuleba that the aircraft should arrive in Ukraine in the coming months.
Ukraine,
now more than two years into a full-fledged war against Russia, has sought
F-16s for many months.
Belgium,
Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands are among countries which have pledged to
donate F-16s. A coalition of countries has promised to help train Ukrainian
pilots in their use.
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