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Military operation in Ukraine

NATO-supplied jets for Ukraine to be legitimate target for Russian troops, says diplomat

Maria Zakharova noted that NATO member states "have established a whole separate coalition of countries that will hand over the warplanes to the Kiev regime and train Ukrainian pilots"

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation/TASS

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation/TASS

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Fighter jets supplied by NATO member states to Ukraine will be a legitimate target for Russian troops and the risks of a direct military clash with the alliance only increase, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"The fighter jets involved in the conflict on the Ukrainian army’s side will be a legitimate target for destruction wherever they may fly from," the Russian diplomat said, commenting on the prospects of the deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"The risks of a direct military clash between Russia and NATO only increase," she stressed.

NATO member states have long been talking about the deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and "have established a whole separate coalition of countries that will hand over the warplanes to the Kiev regime and train Ukrainian pilots," Zakharova said.

"Considering that a considerable part of the Ukrainian aerodrome infrastructure has been destroyed, it is not ruled out that these American fighters will be based outside the country, namely, in Poland, Slovakia and Romania," the Russian diplomat said.

"Therefore, the North Atlantic alliance is being increasingly entangled in the Ukrainian conflict and, in actual fact, as we understand, is engaged in hybrid warfare against our country under the slogan of rescuing Ukraine," Zakharova stressed.

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Foreign policy Maria Zakharova Military operation in Ukraine

Military operation in Ukraine

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