©Vladimir Fedorenko; RIA Novosti
F-16 fighter jets and any airfields they are based at will be legitimate targets for the Russian military if they participate in combat missions against Moscow’s forces, the chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, has warned.
The comments come as Kiev prepares to receive the first delivery of US-made fighter jets from its Western backers, after Ukrainian pilots were trained to fly them.
In a statement to RIA Novosti published on Monday, Kartapolov clarified that if the F-16s “are not used for their intended purpose” or are simply held in storage at foreign airbases with the intent to transfer them to Ukraine, where they will be equipped, maintained, and flown from Ukrainian airfields, then Russia would have no claims against its “former partners” and would not target them.
However, if the jets take off from foreign bases and carry out sorties and strikes against Russian forces, both the fighter planes and the airfields they are stationed at will be “legitimate targets,” according to Kartapolov.
“As for [our ability] to shoot [them] down, we can shoot down anyone, anywhere,” the MP insisted.
Kartapolov’s statement comes after the chief of aviation of Ukraine’s Air Force Command, Sergey Golubtsov, stated in an interview with Radio Liberty on Sunday that some of the F-16 fighter jets donated to Kiev by the West would be stationed at foreign airbases.
He explained that only a portion of the jets would be stationed directly on Ukrainian territory, corresponding to the number of pilots trained to operate the aircraft. The other jets would be kept in reserve at “safe airbases” abroad so that they are not targeted by the Russian military.
Golubtsov stated that so far four countries have agreed to transfer F-16s to Ukraine, namely Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. While he did not specify exactly how many aircraft would be donated, he claimed it was between 30 and 40 planes, with potentially more to come in the future.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also warned that Moscow would perceive the deliveries of F-16 fighters to Ukraine as a nuclear threat, given that the jets have long been used as part of the US-led bloc’s joint nuclear missions.
At the same time, the minister stressed that the US-designed jets would not change the situation on the battlefield, and would be shot down and destroyed like any other foreign weapons supplied to Ukraine.
Pro-war EU politicians ‘punished’ in elections – Snowden
Pro-war EU politicians have been “punished” in the European parliamentary elections, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden said on Monday.
©Getty Images/Piaras Ó Mídheach;Sportsfile; Web Summit
The comments come as the results of EU parliamentary elections which wrapped up on Sunday, reveal a significant voter swing to right-wing and conservative parties, particularly in France and Germany, where they are projected to beat out the ruling coalitions of President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, respectively.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Snowden argued that the defeat of pro-war politicians in the elections is “not a good sign for [US President Joe] Biden,” suggesting that Washington is the one that decides when the conflicts begin and end.
Pro-war politicians were just harshly punished in EU elections. Not a good sign for Biden. Perhaps time to give peace a chance. https://t.co/yk40R3lGM7
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) June 9, 2024
Over the weekend, hundreds of millions of people are estimated to have taken part in the parliamentary elections across 27 EU member states. According to preliminary results, support for conservative and right-wing parties has grown significantly, as people are increasingly opposed to the bloc’s policies, especially those regarding immigration, the climate, military support for Ukraine, and sanctions on Russia.
In France, the right-wing National Rally, previously led by Marine Le Pen, received more than 30% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance party only managed around 15%, prompting the French leader to dissolve the National Assembly and call a snap general election.
In Germany, Scholz’s ruling Social Democrats received their worst results in decades with just 14% of the vote, according to projections, while the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to finish in second place with an estimated 15%. The center-right CDU-CSU alliance is projected to win around 30% of the vote.
Similar results were seen for conservative parties in other EU states as well, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed that the bloc will continue on a “pro-Ukraine path,” as her centrist faction is projected to remain the largest group in the European Parliament with an estimated 26% of the seats.
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