WASHINGTON, August 5. /TASS/. The US limited Ukraine in how it can use F-16 fighter jets, but Kiev’s possession of these nuclear-capable aircraft still poses a significant threat to Russia’s national security, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.
"We raised a question with the US regarding the prospects of supplying F-16s to the Ukrainian battlefield, given the reports and photos that have appeared in news media on the subject. We received the answer that if and when such planes are delivered to Ukraine, they will be restricted from strikes on Russian territory. However, Crimea, Sevastopol and the new Russian regions are not subject to these restrictions, as well as the territory around Kharkov," he said in an interview with TASS.
"By doing so, the Americans recognized that the appearance of F-16s in the airspace of southeastern Europe is predetermined," he went on to say. "And this is very serious. This is a serious threat to the national security of the Russian Federation."
"We will never accept the idea [of some Western countries] that Crimea is not ours," the ambassador continued.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that deliveries of new weapons, including F-16s, to Ukraine would not change the situation on the battlefield, but would lead to a prolongation of the situation. He also said the fighter jets, if Ukraine comes to operate them, will burn just like any other much-touted Western military equipment.
US administration officials, including US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, have repeatedly acknowledged in recent months that the West's transfer of F-16s to Kiev is not capable of playing a decisive role in the fighting in Ukraine. These deliveries can’t drastically turn around the course of military operations in Kiev's favor, US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said.