by Sputnik International News Staff at Sputnik International
Russia will treat F-16 multi-role fighter jets operated by Ukraine as nuclear-capable assets, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
“We cannot ignore the fact that these planes are dual-purpose platforms that can be used both for nuclear and non-nuclear tasks … No matter what modification of the aircraft will be supplied [to Ukraine] we will treat them as nuclear-capable and we will consider this step of the United States and NATO as a purposeful provocation,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry further warned the regime in Kiev and its Western donors that their reckless behavior was driving the conflict in Ukraine to the point of no return.
“The regime in Kiev and its Western sponsors should realize that their reckless steps are bringing the situation closer to the point where it will attain ‘critical mass’ and explode,” the ministry said.
The ministry also said that some NATO member states were purposefully dragging the alliance into a direct armed
conflict with Russia.
The ministry pointed to French President Emmanuel Macron who had suggested at several occasions that French and other NATO forces should be deployed to Ukraine to fight against Russian troops.
“These and some other actions of NATO member states indicate that they are deliberately trying to turn the Ukrainian crisis into an open military clash between NATO countries and Russia in order to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on our country,” it said.
In this regard,…