IRIA News

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova revealed that Moscow is prioritizing attacks on NATO-supplied Ukrainian fighter jets as they pose a great threat to the Russian troops. She added that NATO’s involvement with Ukraine has increased the dangers of a direct military clash between Russia and the alliance.

“The fighter jets involved in the conflict on the Ukrainian army’s side will be a legitimate target for destruction wherever they may fly from,” Zakharova said as she commented on the prospects of the deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. “The risks of a direct military clash between Russia and NATO only increase,” Zakharova stressed.

Several of Ukraine’s neighboring states, which are also a part of the NATO alliance, have been stressing increasing military funds for Kyiv amid the fears of increasing attacks from Russia and decreasing military aid. Poland, Slovakia, and Romania have been at the forefront of advocating for Ukraine and urging NATO member states to increase military aid.

The latest comments by Zakharova indicate that Russia would not shy away from expanding the range of its attacks into other European states.

“Considering that a considerable part of the Ukrainian aerodrome infrastructure has been destroyed, it is not ruled out that these American fighters will be based outside the country, namely, in Poland, Slovakia, and Romania,” Zakharova said while pointing out three of Ukraine’s NATO member neighbors.

“Therefore, the North Atlantic alliance is being increasingly entangled in the Ukrainian conflict and, in actual fact, as we understand, is engaged in hybrid warfare against our country under the slogan of rescuing Ukraine,” Zakharova stressed.

Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets

Russia’s warning came ahead of the expected deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Kyiv expects to receive the first batch of F-16 jets in the spring of 2024.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ukrainian President has been stressing his Western allies to provide modern weapons to Ukraine, especially modern fighter jets, to compete with Russia’s modern air force.

After several public requests and high-profile meetings with Western leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky managed to seek agreement from his Western partners over the deliveries of F-16 fighter jets. U.S., Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands have assured to provide modern fighter jets to the Ukrainian military. Currently, some Ukrainian pilots are under training for F-16 fighter jets.

In August 2023, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had secured 42 F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and 19 from Denmark.

Depleting military aid for Ukraine

Russia’s threat to destroy Ukraine’s crucial military assets comes at a time when Kyiv is already under the shadow of depleting military aid. The war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas has not only diverted attention but also funds away from Ukraine.

The United States, which has been one of the largest military aid providers for Ukraine since the beginning of the war, finds itself struggling to manage its funds while funding Ukraine and Israel for their wars. The Biden administration has been facing an internal backlash for its military aid spending as the pressure is increasing from the U.S. Congress to decrease foreign military aid.

White House has warned congressional leaders that the United States would run out of money to send weapons to Ukraine by year’s end as the Russia-Ukraine war drags into another winter. In a letter to congressional leadership on Monday, director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young said that “without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has canceled his address to the U.S. Senate which was arranged for him to make a direct appeal to U.S. lawmakers for additional aid amid a funding dispute in Congress.