U.S. President Joe Biden has approved the training of Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots by Kyiv’s Western allies, Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.”“The President has given the green light to allow and support further progress in training,” she told reporters when asked about Washington’s approval of training Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on August 2 that the training of Ukrainian pilots would begin this month. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the training program will take at least six months and may take place in Denmark or the Netherlands . It is expected that by the spring of 2024, pilots will be able to fly the F-16 in the skies over Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov noted that the United States and its NATO satellites create the risk of a direct armed clash with Russia, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences. According to him, the fact that Kiev has F-16 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons will be considered by Russia as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere.Russia has previously sent a note to
NATO countries because of the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation
Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov stated that the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy, and other countries.
Source : RIA.RU
