Introduction – June 11, 2024
NATO’s supply to Ukraine of a total of 60 nuclear capable F-16s could easily lead to a widening of the war in Ukraine.
Both President Putin and the head of the Duma Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, have warned that air bases hosting Ukraine’s F-16s will be considered ‘legitimate targets’.
Are NATO nations supplying the planes because they believe it will force Ukraine to keep at least some aircraft in airbases outside the country? Although ostensibly to protect them from Russian strikes, the placing of such high value targets within range of Russian strikes might prove too tempting for Putin.
Is that the reasoning behind the rush to supply F-16s to Ukraine? Are they actively trying to lure Russian strikes against NATO members that might host Ukrainian F-16s?
Wherever they are kept the F-16s will be prime targets for Russian strikes, and that includes NATO states. Ed.
Ukraine’s air force may keep some F-16 warplanes abroad to protect them from Russian strikes
Hanna Arhirova – Associated Press June 10, 2024
Ukraine may keep some of the F-16 fighter jets it’s set to receive from its Western allies at foreign bases to protect them from Russian strikes, a senior Ukrainian military officer said Monday.
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with over 60 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to help it fend off Russian attacks. Ukrainian pilots are currently undergoing training to fly the warplanes ahead of the deliveries expected to start later this year.
Serhii Holubtsov, head of aviation within Ukraine’s air force, said that “a certain number of aircraft will be stored at secure air bases outside of Ukraine so that they are not targeted here.”
Holubtsov told the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that those F-16s could be used to replace damaged aircraft as they undergo repairs as well as for training Ukrainian pilots abroad.
“This way, we can always have a certain number of aircraft in the operational fleet that corresponds to the number of pilots we have,” he said. “If there are more pilots, there will be more aircraft in Ukraine.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow could consider launching strikes at facilities in NATO countries if they host the warplanes used in Ukraine.
“If they are stationed at air bases outside the Ukrainian borders and used in combat, we will have to see how and where to strike the assets used in combat against us,” Putin said last year. “It poses a serious danger of NATO being further drawn into the conflict.”
In March, the Russian leader again warned Ukraine’s Western allies against providing air bases from where the F-16s could launch sorties against the Kremlin’s forces. Those bases would become a “legitimate target,” he said.
“F-16s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and we will also need to take that into account while organizing our combat operations,” Putin stated.
On Monday, Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the defense committee in the Russian Parliament’s lower house told the state RIA Novosti news agency that NATO bases hosting Ukrainian F-16s would be “legitimate targets” for Moscow if the warplanes use them to launch attacks on Russia.
Russia will only strike these 40yr old F16s if they enter UKraine.
There’s the delivery of planes to destroyed UKrainian airfields, or their operation from NATO Nazi countries to attack Russian forces or old Russia, then NATO Nazi airfields will be attacked, maybe with dialed down tactical nukes.
This is a daft article, because if most of these F16s stay in NATO Naziland, then Russia won’t attack them, so the article poses a stupid question.
Who wrote this???
Trying to get Russia to bite so they can say Russia started the war but Russia won’t bite, so they have to bite and do things they didn’t want to do thus making it clear they’re the ones who want war. They’re on their last economic legs is why they’re desperate, but it’s hard to see how war can stop it.
They can’t be far off hyperinflation now that’s too high to hide. They’ve been able to hide it in some markets like increased stock prices, increased property values as well as gold, jewellery, art, executive toys like jets, supercars, helicopters, yachts, executive pay and bonuses – but unless they pay executives ridiculous salaries of millions per week (then millions per hour) it will break into Main Street in the end. Once it breaks into the everyday economy it will be unstoppable as jobs, businesses, houses and banks are lost and the prices of anything left shoot up continuously. War with Russia is most unlikely to stop it.
Russia, on numerous occations, has stated that they cannot know that F-16 are NOT carrying nuclear weapons and will treat them all as if they are armed with nuclear weapons. IMO, this is a provocative move by the West which seem single-minded in their pursuit of Russia’s defeat and dismemberment. As just a lowly citizen who can’t trust the Globalist American Empire, I am dependent on President Putin to contain the war but I can’t expect him to risk the safety of his peoples.
this strategy will not preserve them . as soon russia
discoveres that F16 launch guided bombs from poland
or Baltics russia will target them inmediately .
all NAZI jets flying over Baltics + Finland are automatic
russian targets since they can strike Petersburg in SECONDS !