Putin says any F-16 jets donated to Ukraine will be shot down but says it is 'complete nonsense' that Russia will attack any NATO nation and mocks 'scared' Czech Republic

• ‘We will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy tanks,’ Putin said of Western F-16s

Russia will shoot down any F-16 fighter jets that Western countries supply to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin declared today, before mocking the Czech Republic for being ‘scared’ of a Russian invasion he says will never come.

‘If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield,’ Putin told Russian air force pilots during a tour of a training facility in Torzhok, in Russia’s Tver region.

‘We will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers.’

The Russian President also declared NATO had expanded eastwards towards Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union but reiterated that Moscow had no plans to attack a NATO state.

‘We have no aggressive intentions towards these states,’ Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript released on Thursday.

‘The idea that we will attack some other country – Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared – is complete nonsense. It’s just drivel.’

But Putin quickly contradicted himself, adding that any F-16 flying in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’, even if they are based in NATO countries.

‘Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the 344th State Centre for combat use and retraining of flight crews of the Russian Defence Ministry in the town of Torzhok in the Tver Region, Russia March 27, 2024

Putin sits in a flight simulator during a visit to a pilot training school in the Tver region

Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Hero of Russia, head of air combat and tactical training Alexander Karamyshev, visits the 344th State Centre for combat use and retraining of flight crews of the Russian Defence Ministry in the town of Torzhok in the Tver Region, Russia March 27, 2024

‘If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield,’ Putin told Russian air force pilots during a tour of a training facility in Torzhok, in Russia’s Tver region

Putin said that the West was simply playing up the fake threat of a Russian invasion of a NATO state to justify ramping up its war capabilities and providing further aid to Ukraine

Ukraine, now more than two years into a full-fledged war against Russia, has sought F-16s for many months

Putin’s remarks followed comments earlier in the day by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that the aircraft should arrive in Ukraine in the near future.

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Ukraine, now more than two years into a full-fledged war against Russia, has sought F-16s for many months.

Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands are among countries which have pledged to donate F-16s.

Meanwhile, a coalition of NATO countries has promised to help train Ukrainian pilots in their use.

But Putin said that the West was simply playing up the fake threat of a Russian invasion of a NATO state to justify ramping up its war capabilities and providing further aid to Ukraine.

The Russian President claimed the West’s trumpeting of perceived aggression from Moscow was just ‘another way to deceive your population and extract additional costs from people, force them to bear this burden on their shoulders, that’s all.’

His visit to the Russian air base in Torzhok coincided with nuclear war games in Siberia, as soldiers from a regiment of Yars strategic missile launchers in the Irkutsk region trained at repelling an attack by subversion groups in a military crisis exercise.

‘The Yars regiment has gone on combat patrol routes during a command-staff exercise,’ said the Russian defence ministry as it released footage of the war games.

‘It will change field positions and disperse missile battalions that will overcome contaminated areas.

‘Specific attention is paid to repelling attacks of subversion groups.’

Yars missiles are currently the main element of the ground-based component of the Russian strategic nuclear force.

The Mach 25 missiles have a range of up to 7,500 miles, enabling a strike on the U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2-L) speaks with Hero of Russia, head of aerial weapons training and tactical training of the centre, Alexander Karamyshev (L)

Russian President Vladimir Putin talks to military pilots at the 344th State Centre for combat use and retraining of flight crews

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 1, 2024, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired from the Plesetsk launch pad in northwestern Russia

Missile regiment of the Irkutsk Missile Compound’s Yars missile launchers went on combat patrols

Yars missiles are currently the main element of the ground-based component of the Russian strategic nuclear force

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has triggered the deepest crisis in East-West relations since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Kremlin, which accuses the Western nations of fighting against Russia by supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence, says relations with Washington and London have probably never been worse.

As Putin railed against the imminent provision of F-16s to Kyiv, Britain declared it was the largest supplier of drones to Ukraine and is working with Latvia to lead a European coalition to step up production.

The UK has pledged to spend £325million on building the UAVs, as well as research and development of new technologies, and will send 10,000 drones to Ukraine this year.

Other allies, such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway, have also provided Ukraine with combat drones.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has nurtured its own private military startups to innovate and build up their domestic industry as the war enters its third year.

In total, there are now about 200 dronemakers in Ukraine and the Strategic Industries Ministry has said the country could make as many as 2 million drones this year.

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