Russian Foreign Ministry commented on the possibility of deliveries of F-16 fighters to Ukraine

Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov: Russia knew that the range of weapons would sooner or later end up in Ukraine

Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov, commenting on the possibility of US deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Kiev, said that Russia’s goals for NMD will be achieved, despite the actions and intentions of the States to increase arms supplies to Ukraine, including training pilots for F-16 fighter jets.

According to Ryabkov, “things were moving towards this,” and attempts to present the issue of transferring the F-16 to Ukraine as a debatable one and present the case as if everything was not yet predetermined did not impress the Russian side. The Deputy Minister stressed that it was clear to Russia that the entire range of weapons, military equipment, which is “under discussion”, one way or another will end up in Ukraine, which also applies to the training of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The Deputy Foreign Minister recalled that earlier the crews of the ground forces of Ukraine were accepted for training in a number of countries, and not only those in the NATO bloc. At the same time, Ryabkov pointed out that these efforts were “completely useless and meaningless.” As the Deputy Minister noted, Russia’s capabilities are such that all the goals of the NMD will be achieved, and no encroachments on the security of the Russian Federation will lead to the results desired for the West, no matter how large they are carried out by the collective West led by the United States.