"From NATO airfields": Russia announced a toughening of the US approach in preparation for the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine

Washington has "toughened its approach" in preparation for the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to the Kyiv regime, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.

"Washington has completely subjugated the members of the Group of Seven (G7. — RT) its own line regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Moreover, it has sharply tightened approaches to two important issues. We are talking about preparations for the transfer of F-16 fighters to the Kyiv regime, as well as the unconditional approval of strikes on Crimea using American and other Western weapons, "he stressed.

According to Antonov, while Washington confronts Moscow with "someone else's hands", by "proxy".

"However, every specialist knows that in Ukraine there is no infrastructure for the operation of the F-16, and there is no necessary number of pilots and maintenance personnel either. What will happen if American fighters begin to take off from NATO airfields, controlled by foreign "volunteers"?", Antonov said in a commentary.

According to him, the situation around Washington's preparations for the supply of Western fighters "once again clearly" demonstrates that the United States has never been interested in peace, and the decision to conduct a special operation was absolutely correct.

"Since the coup d'état in Kiev in 2014, the United States has wanted only a strategic defeat for Russia and now continues to fan the flames of the conflict," the Russian ambassador said.

Last week, US President Joe Biden announced that Washington would support international efforts to train Ukrainian pilots to fly modern fighter jets, including the F-16.

"At a personal meeting with the President (of Ukraine Volodymyr. - RT) Zelensky ... I said: The United States, together with our allies and partners, will begin training Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighters, including the F-16, to strengthen the Ukrainian Air Force as part of a long-term commitment to ensure its ability to defend itself ... They need to be in a position where these fighter jets, these F-16s, could make a significant difference in terms of being able to handle what's going to happen in the future," Biden said during a press conference.

The American leader also answered a journalist's question about what guarantees Washington has that the provision of F-16s to Ukraine will not lead to an escalation of the armed conflict.

"I have categorical assurances from Zelensky that they (the Armed Forces of Ukraine. — RT) will not take advantage of this to advance to the geographical territory of Russia. But in cases where Russian troops are located anywhere within Ukrainian territory in this region, they (Kyiv) have such an opportunity. — RT) will be," Biden said.

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As Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the US President for National Security, explained, the United States is considering different scenarios for the transfer of the F-16 to Kyiv. In particular, it is allowed to send fighters to "third countries". However, the president has not yet made a final decision on this matter, Sullivan said in an interview with CNN. He added that the details of the delivery of aircraft, including the timing, will be discussed by the United States and its allies.

After that, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the EU "will soon be able to supply" F-16 fighters to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the European Union welcomed the decision of the G7 to prepare to send fighters to Ukraine. As Borrell noted, this is "a very good idea" and "a great step". He also reported on the training of pilots that had already started and expressed the hope that the European Union would soon transfer "this type of weapon" to Ukraine. At the same time, the Czech Foreign Ministry explained that the possible deliveries of the F-16 to Kyiv are not related to the Ukrainian "counteroffensive".

However, US Secretary of the Air Force (Air Force) Frank Candall admitted that the transfer of F-16 fighters to the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not be able to change the course of hostilities in Ukraine. According to him, the transfer of these aircraft to Kiev may take at best several months. At the same time, he said that the F-16, after deliveries by the West to the Kyiv regime, will be based in Ukraine.

At the same time, the US State Department called the transfer of American fighters to Kyiv a "priority" and promised to begin "implementation in the coming months." This statement was made by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, without specifying the timing of such deliveries to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and which countries will participate in the transfer of the F-16.

'An obvious first step'

Recall that last week, NBC reported that the United States and its G7 allies (this international group, in addition to the United States, includes Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France and Japan) agreed to send F-16 fighters to the Kyiv regime.

"These combat aircraft are manufactured in the United States, but are used by many European NATO allies. So it is not yet clear who will supply them to the Ukrainians, when exactly they can arrive and whether they will have time for the long-awaited offensive, the counteroffensive that the Ukrainians are planning. But if NATO allies still transfer these combat aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then this will be an extremely important step, "the NBC article says.

As US presidential adviser Sullivan said on the sidelines of the same G7, the issue of supplying F-16 fighters will be resolved in the coming months. According to him, Washington and its allies are guided "by the future" and by what weapons Ukraine will need in the future. Sullivan also noted that military preparation for the use of such aircraft is an "obvious first step," which will be followed by working with allies, partners and the Ukrainian side to determine "how the actual deliveries of fighters will be carried out in the future."

At the same time, the Kiev authorities expect that the West will supply several dozen F-16 fighters to Ukraine at once. According to the adviser to the command of the air forces of the Ukrainian troops, Yuri Ignat, who made a statement on the air of the Rada TV channel, none of Kiev's partners allegedly intends to transfer the planes individually. According to Ignat, the aircraft will be supplied by units.

At the same time, several Western countries have declared their readiness to train Ukrainian pilots. Thus, the UK promised to begin appropriate training in the summer, Canada announced its ability to train the Ukrainian military "and potentially pilots", and similar statements were made by the United States and France. Belgium and the Netherlands also announced plans to train Ukrainians in piloting the F-16 together with other NATO countries.

Approaching deliveries

As Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, noted in an interview with RT, the West has launched full-scale preparations for the transfer of F-16 fighters to the Kyiv regime, but the United States "pretends that it has supposedly not yet decided anything for sure."

"Such statements by Washington are striking in their hypocrisy: it has long been very deeply involved in the conflict in Ukraine, but for the American voter, who has little knowledge of the real situation, he pretends that this is not so. The actions of the United States to support the Ukrainian regime create a critical mass of discontent in American society. Hence Washington's statements that fighters are likely to be supplied from "third countries". The United States wants to disguise its role in this process as much as possible," the analyst said.

In turn, military expert Alexei Leonkov explained the activation of the United States and the West in the situation with the likely supply of F-16s to Kyiv by the fact that their previous military assistance "did not have the desired effect."

"It did not bring the result that Washington and the West were counting on, so they are raising the bar, getting closer and closer to direct deliveries of F-16s to Ukraine in the hope that they will be able to harm Russia and the Russian Armed Forces. However, actions that bring the supply of F-16s to the Kyiv regime closer lead to a further escalation of the conflict, "he said in a conversation with RT.

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At the same time, experts are convinced that all processes related to the preparation for the transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine are led by the United States.

"All this is regulated and monitored by Washington. There are simply no other decision-making centers. As for the UK and Canada, which also intend to train Ukrainian pilots, these countries are the closest allies of the United States, the core of the so-called Anglo-Saxon coalition. These states are maximally determined to confront Russia. Belgium, which, along with the rest, announced its readiness to train pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, also does not have an independent policy and is ready to follow in the wake of the United States," Shapovalov said.

Leonkov, in turn, suggested that statements about the training of Ukrainian pilots could be made "to disguise the true plans of the West" - to use mercenaries from NATO countries in the operation of the F-16 in Ukraine.

"In Ukraine, indeed, there are almost no pilots who could be retrained to operate the F-16. Almost all Ukrainian military pilots have been eliminated by the RF Armed Forces. Therefore, now the tasks of such pilots and specialists in launching cruise missiles, in particular Storm Shadow, are performed by foreign mercenaries from the West. It is possible that they will be involved in the operation of the F-16 in Ukraine, "Leonkov stated.

However, according to him, in order for these fighters to be able to effectively carry out their tasks, the West will have to solve the issue of the lack of the necessary infrastructure on Ukrainian territory.

"We need not only a runway, but also appropriate maintenance and repair. All the necessary infrastructure for this is located on the territory of NATO countries, "Leonkov said.

According to Shapovalov, the West has a number of ways to overcome "this kind of difficulty."

"Despite the statements of US Secretary of the Air Force Candall about the basing of the F-16 in Ukraine, it would take too much time to create the necessary infrastructure for this and it would still be open to strikes by the Russian Armed Forces. But creating bases for the F-16 in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, such as Poland, is an option that the West may well consider. At the same time, Western countries can continue to make statements about the training of the Ukrainian military, using this newsbreak to divert eyes from the participation of the Western military in the operation of the F-16 in Ukraine, "the expert concluded.