WWIII: Video Claims to Show American-Made F-16 Flying Over Odessa as Ukraine War Escalates
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the arrival a “new phase of development” for the Ukrainian air force.
A video emerged on social media Sunday claiming to show an American-made F-16 fighter flying over Ukraine’s southern city of Odessa after reports emerged that Kyiv received six jets from the Netherlands.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the arrival a “new phase of development” for the Ukrainian air force.
“We often heard the word ‘impossible’ in response, but we made possible what was our ambition, our defense need, and now – it is a reality in our sky. F-16s in Ukraine. We ensured this,” he posted on X.
The reason shipping these jets to Ukraine were once called “impossible” is because they were seen as a dramatic escalation. These jets can carry nuclear weapons, which Russia calls a direct threat. But the West has gotten bolder in its support for Ukraine as the war drags on.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said there is no “magic pill” for Ukraine and these planes will be destroyed.
“These planes will appear, their number will gradually decrease, they will be shot down and destroyed. They will not be able to significantly influence the dynamics of events at the front,” he said, according to RT.
Zelensky has said that his country will need about 128 of these fighters to match Russia’s air force.
“The problem with the F-16 is the number and the dates,” he said in July.
Ukraine is expecting 20 of these jets by the end of the year.
The Ukrainian Air Force is generally comprised of Soviet-era Russian fighters, mainly the Mig-29, which first flew in 1977. Ukraine has been pushing for the U.S. to provide these fighters since the first Russian tank rolled into the country on 24 February.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, warned the West that providing Ukraine with F-16s can lead to nuclear war and noted that Kyiv does not even have the infrastructure to launch these jets.
F-16 jets can be made to carry the B61 nuclear bomb.
“So if one of those planes takes off from a NATO nation [on a Ukrainian mission]—what would that be? An attack on Russia. I shall not describe what could happen next,” he said. “Such a development may not be even sanctioned by the NATO leadership and the U.S.”
TRENDPOST: Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, said last year that Moscow has expressed its deepest concerns that the West will be providing Ukraine with F-16s that can carry nuclear warheads, and said its forces will have to respond accordingly.