NOS News•today, 12:28
Russia has no plans to attack a NATO country, such as Poland or the Czech Republic. “The idea that we will attack another country is complete nonsense,” President Putin said. In Eastern Europe there have been warnings for some time that Russia also has other countries in its sights after Ukraine. But according to Putin, that is nonsense.
The Russian president made his statements about NATO in the presence of air force pilots. “We have no aggressive intentions towards these states,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin, which shared the text of the meeting.
This is what Putin said to the air force pilots:
Putin on NATO attacks and downing of F-16s
Putin said that the people of Poland and the Czech Republic are being unfairly feared of an attack. “It’s just another way to deceive their people into spending more on defense and making people pay for it.”
The Russian president has often said that there is no plan to attack NATO. At the end of last year, US President Biden said that Russia will attack a NATO country if it wins the war in Ukraine. Putin also called that comment “complete nonsense”.
Putin was also asked about the F-16 fighter jets that Western countries have promised to Ukraine. The Netherlands is one of the countries that will supply the fighter planes, together with Belgium, Denmark and Norway. According to the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the aircraft should come to Ukraine in the coming months.
“If they supply F-16s, and apparently train pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield,” Putin said. “We will destroy the planes just as today we destroy tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers.”
