A military airfield near the western Ukrainian city of Starokonstantinov apparently has the relevant infrastructure to house the West’s F-16 fighter jets Ukraine is due to receive.
Viktor Litovkin, a retired Russian Army colonel and military analyst, told Sputnik when commenting on reports about the possibility of these NATO warplanes being stationed there.
Russia has consistently warned against the West’s continued arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying that they only prolong the conflict.
New supplies of weapons, including the nuclear bomb carrying F-16’s, cannot fundamentally change the situation on the ground, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said.
It seems the Soviet-era Starokonstantinov facility has been well-prepared for receiving the F-16’s, which typically need an advanced airfield, fitted with not just a runway, but a commander’s tower, radar stations as well as small plants for the production of high-pressure air and purification of aviation kerosene as well.
Additionally, there should be hangars or warehouses for storing ammunition, air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface missiles, plus concrete hangars for warplanes so that they are not destroyed on the ground in case of an enemy attack, according to the Russian analyst.
All this infrastructure may currently be in place at the Starokonstantinov airfield, the expert suggested. Russian aviation repeatedly hammers the airfield, as well as other ones, means that Moscow’s top brass is aware of Ukraine’s intentions and is keeping a watchful eye on those NATO-backed airfields.
The main goal of the airstrikes is to destroy the facilities and prevent the F-16s from being deployed on Ukrainian territory, Litovkin pointed out.
He added that Russian forces most likely use the powerful Iskander missiles during the airstrikes to do maximum damage to the Ukrainian military airfields, including the Starokonstantinov facility.
The Netherlands and Denmark were among the first countries to agree to supply outdated F-16’s to Ukraine. The White House later confirmed that Kiev would receive the US-made jets from third countries once Ukrainian pilots complete the training to operate them.
Russia will treat F-16 multi-role fighter jets operated by Ukraine as nuclear-capable assets, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement in May, 2024.
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 USA and NATO as a purposeful provocation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, stressed that even if the West finally delivers the F-16’s to the Kiev regime, the, this will not change the situation on the battlefield, but could be deployed to strike Russia with tactical nuclear bombs.
Sputnik / ABC Flash Point News 2024.
These stooges are giving away their F-16’s, so that their people can not protest when the US is force selling their F-35’s…
How could Russia respond’? Hmmm lemme think… They will cross them off their Christmas card list? That oughta do it….