If Western countries decide to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, it could backfire on them, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko warned on Saturday.
Speaking to TASS news agency, Grushko noted the West’s continual “movement up the escalation ladder,” following reports by several US media outlets that Washington would not stop its allies from sending modern fighter jets to Kiev, which remains locked in conflict with Moscow.
“We see that Western countries are sticking to the escalation scenario. It is fraught with colossal risks for themselves,” he said.
Grushko noted that despite the assistance of Western countries, Russia “has all the necessary means to achieve its goals” with regard to the military operation in Ukraine.
On Friday, NBC reported that the US and its allies plan to provide Ukraine with F-16s, though this does not mean that the aircraft would be supplied directly by Washington. Several other outlets also claimed that the administration of US President Joe Biden would not block its allies from transferring the jets to Kiev.