The risks of a direct clash between Russia and NATO will increase after the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine. This was stated on February 23 by the Chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy and Interaction with the Media, Alexey Pushkov.
“At first NATO relied on its tanks, then on HIMARS, now on the F-16. However, the F-16 will not change the course of military operations or the overall balance of forces. But the risk of a direct clash with Russia for NATO is increasing,” he wrote on Telegram.
Pushkov noted that NATO is desperately looking for a factor that will change the course of hostilities, and convinces itself that such a weapon exists.
Earlier, on February 18, Foreign Policy magazine wrote that Ukraine could receive F-16 fighter jets in June. At the same time, the Ukrainian government expects that by September 12 Ukrainian pilots in the United States will finish learning to fly these aircraft.
The Russian Embassy in the Netherlands said on February 7 that it considers the Dutch plans to supply Ukraine with six more F-16s hostile: this increases the risk of a direct military clash between Russia and NATO.
A day earlier, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Alexey Danilov said that Ukraine was preparing the infrastructure to receive these aircraft, and allied countries were providing assistance in this preparation.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced back in December 2023 that his country had decided to transfer the first 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
The West has strengthened its support for Ukraine against the background of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022. The decision was made against the backdrop of an aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. However, recently in Western countries there have been increasingly frequent statements about the need to reduce support for Kyiv.
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