Russia says F-16 transfer to Ukraine would raise NATO question
The transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would raise the question of NATO's involvement in the conflict, Russia's Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has said.
'There 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,' Ambassador Antonov said in remarks published on the embassy's Telegram messaging channel on Monday.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has for months been calling on the country's Western allies to supply advanced fighter jets amid concerns such a move would be met with an escalation by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But amid a flurry of diplomacy by Zelenskyy ahead of the just-concluded G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, United Kingdom Premier Rishi Sunak and Dutch Premier Mark Rutte announced previous week they had agreed to build an 'international coalition' to provide fighter jet support for Ukraine.
Then on Friday, United States President Joe Biden endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy assuring Biden that the aircraft would not be used to go into Russian territory.
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