After the Russian Air Force destroyed an airfield for F-16s near the city of Stryi in Lviv Region with 20 missiles, it became obvious that the possibility of their safe basing only exists in NATO countries. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has already warned that this will not stop the Russian army, Pravda.Ru columnist Lyubov Stepushova recalls.
“If they (F-16s) are used from airfields of third countries, they become a legitimate target for us, wherever they are. F-16s are carriers of nuclear weapons, and we will also have to take this into account when organising combat work,” Putin said during a talk with helicopter pilots participating in the Strategic Air Defence Forces in Torzhok, Tver Region.
This is a very tough and timely statement, as French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that France intends to adapt its AASM guided bombs for the F-16s that will be sent to Ukraine by its Western allies. In other words, the topic is developing and the first group of aircraft will be delivered to Ukraine in July, according to Western media reports. Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands are among the countries that have pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine. Ukrainian pilots are being trained, but the involvement of NATO pilots is not ruled out.
It is no accident that the Russian president emphasised the fact that the F-16s are also carriers of nuclear weapons. This means that the threat will probably be deflected with an adequate response – a nuclear strike on the airfields.
The first contender for such a response will be Romania, where the airfield of the 57th airbase of Mihail Cogalniceanu in Constanta has long been prepared for the designated purpose. It is only 100 kilometres from Snake Island, and it has a pilot training base and personnel, including American. Romania is being hastily rearmed with deliveries of F-16s. It already has an active squadron of 17 aircraft, purchased several years ago from Portugal. It recently purchased “at a very good price” 32 F-16s from Norway, all of which will be delivered in 2025.
The second target is Poland’s airfields, where there are F-16 maintenance centres at airbases in Laska and Krzesiny, but the largest infrastructure to enable such procedures is at Military Aircraft Factory No. 2 in Bydgoszcz, which also has an airfield. Poland has already been warned by the loop of a Russian missile that flew into its territory for 39 seconds. The means of defence of these airfields by NATO air defence forces are also becoming legitimate targets for the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation’s response would mean the start of World War III already in hot form.
Putin told how it can be prevented – by entering negotiations on the global security of the Russian Federation.
“If completely new security relations in Europe had been built after the collapse of the USSR, as Russia proposed, nothing like this would happen today,” he emphasised, adding that “Russian interests” had to be taken into account.
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