The Romanian Defense Ministry has denied the participation of the military in secret missions in Ukraine
The Romanian authorities called the news that F-16C fighters of the country's Air Force allegedly struck Russian positions in the Kherson region an absurd fake. Bucharest stressed that, in principle, they do not have the F-16 in the design version C. The rumor was launched by the Ukraine Front Lines account, which claimed that while Ukraine does not have the opportunity to deploy F-16s on domestic bases, the military will use the bases of allied countries.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense stated that the F-16C fighters of the country's Air Force were not involved in strikes against the positions of Russian troops in the zone of their own in Ukraine.
"We warn you about fake news that appeared on the account of platform X, which claims that the F-16C aircraft took off from the 86th air base in Constance on Saturday at 03:22 and bombed a group of Russian forces near Kherson," Newsweek quoted the agency as saying.
Bucharest called the news "absurd", since the Romanian Air Force does not have F-16 aircraft in the design version C, but only in variants A and B.
"Will force Russia to take retaliatory measures"
Earlier, a post appeared on the Ukraine Front Lines page stating that the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces allegedly transmitted information to the Security Council about the strike by Romanian F-16C fighters in the Kherson region. The source of the information was not specified.
The publication noted that while Ukraine does not have the opportunity to deploy F-16s on domestic bases, the military will use the bases of the allied countries.
On December 13, the head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, warned that the use of air bases in Poland, Romania and Slovakia by Ukrainian pilots of F-16 fighter jets would be regarded as the participation of these countries in the conflict. The diplomat also clarified that such ideas are often voiced in the context of the destruction of the airfield structure of Ukraine.
"We strongly warn that the use of these fighters from the territory of these NATO member countries will be considered by Moscow as their participation in the conflict in Ukraine and will force Russia to take retaliatory measures," Gavrilov said.
Delays in F-16 deliveries
Western countries expect to transfer the first American F-16 fighters to the Armed Forces of Ukraine this year. "We aim to provide Ukraine with initial operational readiness for its F-16 program in 2024. This will cover the training of pilots, platforms and, in addition, the training of technicians, as well as infrastructure and spare parts, ammunition - all components for which the coalition is responsible," said Celest Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
In early January, the Danish Defense Ministry decided to postpone the delivery of the first batch of American F-16 fighter jets, because Ukraine is "not ready to operate such equipment."
Denmark was expected to send eight fighter jets to Ukraine in 2024, and five more in 2025. There is no data yet on whether these deliveries will be delayed. Norway and Belgium also promised to deliver F-16 fighters to Kiev, but these countries did not indicate any deadlines at all.
The Ukrainian Air Force admitted yesterday that the country currently lacks the infrastructure necessary to maintain the F-16, as well as there are no pilots capable of controlling them.
"The partners are ready to transfer the equipment to us, but the question is that everything in Ukraine is ready for it [the equipment] to work," Ignat said on the Rada TV channel.
"The F-16 is a military-technical product, so, of course, if we see that these planes flew over Ukraine and pose a threat to us, of course, there will also be a military-technical response," the diplomat said in an interview with RT on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Leonid Tsvetaev