Russia Warns Ukraine's F-16s Will Be Treated as Nuclear Threats

The Russian government is warning Ukraine that Kyiv's new fleet of F-16 fighter jets will be treated as a "nuclear-capable" threat.

Ukraine's military said last week that it would begin operating the U.S.-made jets as soon as Monday. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Ilya Yevlash said that the planes would be ready for battle after Orthodox Easter, which was Sunday.

The F-16s—provided by Western allies including Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium—will represent a much-needed update to Ukraine's aging fleet of largely Soviet-made aircraft that have been battered and depleted after more than two years of combat.

While F-16s can accommodate certain nuclear weapons in the right configuration, Ukraine does not have a nuclear arsenal and there have been no indications that any allies who do possess nuclear weapons intend on sharing them with Kyiv.

Regardless, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Ukraine in a statement on Monday that it "cannot ignore" the possibility that the planes could have the capability of delivering nuclear weapons.

Russia also claimed that the arrival of the F-16s was a "purposeful provocation" by "the United States and NATO," despite neither having supplied the aircraft to Ukraine.

"We cannot ignore the fact that these planes are dual-purpose platforms that can be used both for nuclear and non-nuclear tasks," the Russian Foreign Ministry statement reads.

"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," it continues.

The ministry's statement goes on to warn that "the regime in Kyiv 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."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email on Monday evening.

The Russian government argues that French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of NATO troops intervening in the Russia-Ukraine war means that the West is "deliberately trying to turn the Ukrainian crisis into an open military clash between NATO countries and Russia," according to Russian-state news agency Sputnik.

Nearly all other NATO allies, including the U.S., have rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine for potential combat. President Joe Biden said during his State of the Union address in March that there are "no American soldiers at war in Ukraine, and I'm determined to keep it that way."

Monday was not the first time that Russia has warned F-16s will be considered a nuclear threat once a Ukrainian fleet is operative. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeatedly made similar remarks after it was announced that Kyiv would be receiving the jets last year.

"Any aircraft is actually nuclear weapons capable," U.S. Air Force Weapons School alumnus and former F-16 pilot Christopher Stewart said in comments last year to The Kyiv Post, where Stewart also serves as an editor. "A blimp, dirigible, zeppelin or hot air balloon is nuclear weapons capable."