Russia is raising a stink about F-16s in Ukraine by saying they're nuclear-capable, even though the types of warplanes already deployed there can carry nukes

Tue, 05/07/2024 - 04:27

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) reacts as he sits in a F-16 fighter jet in the hangar of the Skrydstrup Airbase in Vojens, northern Denmark, on August 20, 2023.
MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Russia said on Monday that it would treat F-16s in Ukraine as an escalation because they're nuclear-capable.
The Foreign Ministry said it would consider the delivery of the jets as a "purposeful provocation."
Meanwhile, the warplanes already used by Ukraine can technically be fitted to deploy nukes too.

Russia warned on Monday against the expected arrival of F-16s in Ukraine, saying the US warplanes would be treated as an escalation given their potential as nuclear weapons platforms.