Britain and US ‘playing with fire’ by supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets: Russian foreign minister accuses West of ‘unacceptable escalation’ over its military support for Kiev
- Sergei Lavrov accused the West of “an unacceptable escalation” of the war
Western countries are playing with fire by agreeing to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, the Russian foreign minister said.
Sergei Lavrov accused the West of “an unacceptable escalation” of the war because of its continued military support for Ukraine.
Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte agreed to build an “international coalition” to help procure F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine.
And US President Joe Biden approved plans to allow allies to train Ukrainian forces to fly US-made F-16 fighter jets — and eventually to provide the plane itself.
“It’s definitely playing with fire,” Lavrov said of Western countries agreeing to supply Ukraine with fourth-generation fighter jets. He denounced it as an attempt to “weaken Russia” by “Washington, London and their satellites in the EU.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of “an unacceptable escalation” of the war over its continued military support to Ukraine.
He added that Britain and the United States are ‘playing with fire’ by agreeing to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets (pictured)
F-16s have been at the top of Ukraine’s weapon wish list ever since it received main battle tanks from the likes of the US, UK and Germany.
Kiev, which had already bolstered its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems, now believes the jets could prove vital in the war and essential to the country’s long-term security.
Lavrov’s warning came as Russia unleashed its largest drone bombing of the war against Kiev.
The night attack, which lasted until yesterday morning, involved 54 gun-toting drones – timed to coincide with the celebration of 1,541 years since the founding of Kiev.
But Ukraine said artillery gunners stationed around the Ukrainian capital shot down most of the rockets, in the latest setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lavrov’s warning was echoed yesterday by Russia’s ambassador to Britain, Andrei Kelin, who warned the UK not to allocate any further funds to Ukraine or the conflict could escalate.
On May 28, a Russian drone is shot down by Ukrainian forces in Kiev, Ukraine
A firefighter extinguishes a fire after a massive Russian drone attack on May 28
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, he claimed: ‘Sooner or later this escalation may take on a new dimension that we don’t need and don’t want.’
Earlier this month, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed that Britain is sending Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine as another blow to Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
Costing about £2.2 million, the missiles would enable Ukraine to hit Russian troops and logistics hubs deep behind the frontline. It was the first known shipment of long-range weapons that Kiev has long sought from its allies.
The UK has supplied Ukraine with short-range missiles, Challenger tanks and training of 15,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil.
The bombing in Kiev left two dead — including a 41-year-old man — and three wounded, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The Ukrainian Air Force said a “record” of 54 drones were launched from Russia’s Briansk and Krasnodar regions, adding that 52 were destroyed.
As the drone war rages, Russia has blamed Ukraine – and its Western financiers – for increasing artillery and drone attacks on its territory, allegations Kiev has largely denied.
Most drones target Russian regions bordering Ukraine, but they have sometimes reached hundreds of miles inside Russia, including a thwarted attack on the Kremlin itself.