JAKARTA - The transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will raise questions about the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the conflict and will not undermine Russia's military goals, senior Russian diplomats said on Monday.
US President Joe Biden on Friday last week supported a training program for Ukrainian pilots to use F-16 fighter jets, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky convincing President Biden the planes would not be used to enter Russian territory.
"There is no infrastructure for F-16 operations in Ukraine and the number of pilots and maintenance personnel needed is also non-existent," said Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, in a statement published on the embassy's Telegram messaging channel.
"What will happen if American warplanes take off from NATO airbase, which is controlled by foreign 'voluntary'?" he continued.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the transfer of US jets to Ukraine would be "completely futile and stupid," RIA's Russian government-owned news agency reported.
"These efforts are completely useless and meaningless. Our capabilities are such that all the objectives of a special military operation will definitely be achieved," Ryabkov, quoted by RIA, said using a Moscow-selected term, compared to an invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, Antonov also said that any Ukrainian attack on the Crimean region would be considered an attack on Russia.
"It is important for the United States to be fully aware of Russia's response," said Antonov.
Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian-controlled targets primarily on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Not only that, Antonov also repeated Russia's accusations against the United States that brought Western countries into its agenda.
"Washington has really defeated G7 members on its own policies regarding the conflict in Ukraine," Antonov criticized, adding that the United States wanted "strategic defeat" for Russia.
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It is known that during last weekend's summit in Hiroshima, Japan, G7 countries hinted at long-term support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, President Zelensky, who also attended the meeting, said he was confident Ukraine would receive an F-16 supply.
Russia described its invasion of Ukraine in February last year as a "special military operation" in its campaign against the West.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and its Western allies call Russia's actions unwarranted to seize territory.
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