Putin: Airfields of third countries, where Ukrainian F-16s were launched, will become legitimate targets

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that if Ukraine flies F-16 aircraft from the airfields of third countries, these airports will become a legitimate target of Russia. Putin also spoke about the possibility of Russia attacking other countries, reacting to the call "Russia is only for Russians".

If Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets use airfields of third countries, these airfields become a legitimate target for Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this during a conversation with military pilots in the Tver region.

According to the Russian leader, the appearance of F-16 fighters on the battlefield in Ukraine will not change the situation.

"We will destroy their (NATO countries') aircraft in the same way we destroyed their tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including several missile systems today. "Of course, if the airfields of a third country are used, they (airfields) will become a legal target for us , regardless of where they are," Putin said.

At the same time, the Russian president noted that F-16 aircraft are also carriers of nuclear weapons, and it is necessary to take this into account when organizing combat operations.

In addition, Putin praised the actions of the Russian military aviation in the "special operation" in Ukraine.

The move of NATO and the possibility of Russia attacking other countries

"NATO is the North Atlantic bloc, the organization of the North Atlantic. Where is he going now? It is entering the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, other regions of the world and is already moving to Latin America. And all of them under different pretexts, with different sauces, but the same thing: to introduce NATO there and follow its satellites in Europe . "It seems that all this is somehow in their national interests, they are afraid of a big and powerful Russia, although they seem to be doing it in vain, " Putin said.

The head of the Russian state also called the statements that "Russia wants to fight with NATO" nonsense.

"In 2022 , if I remember correctly, the United States spent 811 billion dollars, and Russia spent 72 billion dollars. 72 and 811 - the difference is significant, more than ten times . US defense spending is about 40% of global defense spending, 39% of global spending is the US. And Russia - 3.5 percent. And given this ratio, are we fighting NATO or something else? This is just nonsense," said Putin.

According to him, if after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as Russia proposed, a completely new security relationship had been built in Europe, " the situation like today would not have arisen" .

"We only took into account our interests in the field of security, which we have been talking about from year to year, actually from ten years to ten years. Just complete disregard . T came directly to our border. Did we move towards the borders of those countries that are part of the NATO bloc? We didn't touch anyone. They moved towards us. Have we crossed the ocean to the borders of the United States ? No, they came closer to us. What should we do? We protect our people only in our historical territories. That's why their talk about attacking Europe after Ukraine is absolutely nonsense," Putin said.

"The possibility of attacking some other countries, Poland , the Baltic states, etc., scares the Czechs. It's just nonsense, another way to cheat the public and charge people more costs by forcing them to shoulder the burden. That's all ," he added.

Russia 's national issue

In addition, the Russian president emphasized the need to "carefully treat inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony" in Russia.

"However, we should never forget that we are a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country, and we should always treat our brothers - representatives of other religions: Muslims, Jews, with respect, and we do so. We talk about four faiths and call them traditional, but we have a very rich diversity in the spiritual realm. We treat everyone with respect and offer and give everyone the opportunity to feel that they are defending their Motherland, that no one has another Motherland. And for us, thank God, that's how it works. We must be very careful about interethnic and interconfessional peace," Putin said.

At the same time, he sharply condemned those who say " Russia is only for Russians " .

"You know , when I hear about ours - there are such people everywhere, in any society - arrogant patriots, including those who say that Russia is only for Russians, you know, I get a feeling of anxiety. Why? Because if we keep in mind that about 190 nationalities and peoples live in our country and that some nationalities represent millions of people , if we start to implement the destructive ideas that all the rest here are foreigners , we will destroy the country. And the main victims will be the Russian people. Therefore, you should treat this component very seriously, do not wave your hands and shake your tongue, but think when you pronounce each word, each phrase. We should think that we have one big motherland," Putin said.