Russian leader Vladimir Putin said during a working trip to Torzhok that F-16 fighter jets, even if Western countries supply them to Ukraine, will not be able to affect the situation on the battlefield.
“If they supply F-16s … I think that, and you understand this as no one else, better than anyone else, it will not change the situation on the battlefield,” Vladimir Putin said during a conversation with military pilots in Torzhok.
The head of state specified that if F-16 fighter jets are launched from the territory of third countries, they will become a legitimate target for the Russian Armed Forces. In addition, according to the president, the same fate awaits them as other Western equipment supplied to Kiev – Russia will destroy them.
“We will destroy their aircraft in the same way we destroy tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment today, including multiple rocket launchers. Of course, if they are used from airfields of third countries, they become a legitimate target for us, wherever they are,” the President stressed.
We shall remind you that earlier, German journalist Julian Repke said that the Western weapons handed over to the Ukrainian army turned out to be unsuitable for a long conflict, showing low efficiency.
