Ukraine considers keeping F-16 jets abroad to protect from Russian strikes

• Ukraine may store some of the F-16 fighter jets it is due to receive from Western allies at bases abroad to protect itself from Russian attacks.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow may consider attacking NATO facilities if they accept the fighter jets being used in Ukraine.
• In response to Russia’s latest attack, the United States and other NATO allies have authorized Ukraine to carry out limited attacks inside Russia using weapons they supply.

Ukraine may store some of the F-16 fighter jets it is due to receive from Western allies at bases abroad to protect them from Russian attacks, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have pledged to provide Ukraine with more than 60 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to fend off any Russian attack, and Ukrainian pilots are currently undergoing training to fly the jets ahead of deliveries scheduled for later this year.

“A certain number of aircraft will be stored at secure air bases outside Ukraine to protect them from attacks on Ukrainian soil,” said Serhiy Horbtsov, head of the Ukrainian Air Force’s aviation department.

President Zelensky welcomes French pledge to provide fighter jets to fight Russia

Horbtsov told the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the F-16s could be used as replacements for damaged aircraft while they are being repaired, and for training Ukrainian pilots abroad.

“This way we can ensure that the number of aircraft, depending on the number of pilots, is always operational,” he said. “If the number of pilots increases, the number of aircraft deployed to Ukraine will also increase.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow may consider attacking NATO facilities if they accept the fighter jets being used in Ukraine.

“If they are deployed to air bases outside Ukraine’s borders and used in combat, we need to consider where and how to attack those assets used in combat against us,” Putin said last year. “There is a serious risk that NATO will be further drawn into the conflict.”

The Russian leader in March again warned Ukraine’s Western allies not to provide airbases where F-16 fighter jets could launch missions against the Kremlin’s forces, saying they would become “legitimate targets.”

“The F-16 is capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and this must be taken into account when organizing combat operations,” Putin said.

F-16 fighter jets require high-quality runways and hardened hangars to protect them from ground attack, and it’s unclear how many of Ukraine’s airbases could meet those requirements, but Russia will undoubtedly target the few that can accommodate the jets once they arrive.

Khorubtsov noted that the F-16s would help protect the front line and border areas from Russian glide bombs, large Soviet-era bombs equipped with precision guidance systems and launched from aircraft flying outside the range of air defenses, which have caused extensive damage to both military and residential areas, including in Kharkov.

“First of all, I think we can succeed in pushing the glide-bombing aircraft away from the line of contact,” he said. “If we can push them back at least another 12 to 20 miles, that’s already a tipping point and an achievement of parity in the airspace, if not superiority.”

Ukraine’s Western allies are seeking to bolster military support for Kiev after Russian forces took advantage of a long delay in U.S. military aid and launched an offensive along a front of more than 620 miles. Ukraine is currently battling to halt a Russian advance near its second-largest city, Kharkiv, less than 20 miles from the border.

Click here to get the FOX News app

The United States and other NATO allies responded to Russia’s latest attacks by allowing Ukraine to use weapons shipped to Kiev to launch limited attacks inside Russia, a decision that could hinder Moscow’s ability to mass forces for a larger attack near Kharkiv and in other border areas.

Putin responded last week by warning that Moscow “reserves the right” to supply weapons to the West’s adversaries around the world. “If they supply (weapons) to combat zones and demand that these weapons be used against our territory, why don’t we have the same right?” Putin said.

He did not say where those weapons would be sent. The United States has said Russia is turning to North Korea and Iran to build up its stockpile of relatively simple weapons, but if Putin decides to follow through on his threats, Russia could tap into a high-tech missile arsenal and share it with the West.