[LAUREN TAYLOR]

RUSSIA CONTINUES TO RAMP UP ITS RHETORIC FOLLOWING FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON’S ADMISSION THAT HE COULD SEND TROOPS TO UKRAINE IF RUSSIA BREAKS THROUGH THE FRONT LINES..

EARLIER THIS WEEK RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN ORDERED TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS DRILLS IN RESPONSE TO WHAT THE KREMLIN CALLED “PROVOCATIVE STATEMENTS” FROM THE WEST.

ON WEDNESDAY, RUSSIA WARNED IT WILL TARGET FRENCH TROOPS IF MACRON SENDS THEM TO UKRAINE.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN MARIA ZAKHAROVA TELLING REPORTERS: “IF THE FRENCH APPEAR IN THE CONFLICT ZONE, THEY WILL INEVITABLY BECOME TARGETS FOR THE RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES.”

ADDING TO THIS HEATED ATMOSPHERE, RUSSIA WARNED THAT UKRAINE’S NEWLY ACQUIRED F-16 FIGHTER JETS WILL BE VIEWED AS A “NUCLEAR-CAPABLE” THREAT. THE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY LABELING THE DEPLOYMENT OF F-16S AS A “PURPOSEFUL PROVOCATION” BY THE US AND NATO — EVEN THOUGH NEITHER THE U.S. NOR NATO HAS SENT F-16S TO KYIV. .

THE F-16 JETS, PROVIDED BY SOME WESTERN ALLIES TO REPLACE UKRAINE’S OUTDATED SOVIET-ERA FLEET, AIM TO ENHANCE UKRAINE’S MILITARY CAPABILITIES WITH LONGER RANGE AND IMPROVED MANEUVERABILITY, AND WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH US WEAPONRY PREVIOUSLY SUPPLIED TO UKRAINE, SUCH AS THE AIM-9M SIDEWINDER MISSILE AND THE AGM-88 HIGH-SPEED ANTI-RADIATION MISSILE – WHICH SEEK AND DESTROY ENEMY RADAR-EQUIPMENT.

UKRAINE’S MILITARY, WHICH HAS BEEN TRAINING WITH THE F-16S SINCE NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR, PLANS TO DEPLOY THEM SOON. DESPITE THE FIGHTING FALCON’S CAPABILITY TO BE OUTFITTED WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS, UKRAINE DOES NOT POSSESS A NUCLEAR ARSENAL, AND THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT NUCLEAR-ARMED NATIONS PLAN TO ARM UKRAINE WITH SUCH WEAPONS.

HOWEVER, FORMER MILITARY PILOTS ARE SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE IMPACT OF F-16 JETS ON THE CONFLICT, NOTING THAT RUSSIA HAS DEPLOYED ADVANCED AIR-DEFENSE SYSTEMS THAT POSE A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE TO THE F-16S.

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