Russia’s F-16 threats could start a war with NATO, Swedish military official warns

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements that F-16 fighter jets are legitimate targets for Moscow – even on third-country airfields – is an escalation of Russian rhetoric that could potentially lead to a war, according to Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Joakim Paasikivi.
A group of 14 countries has pledged to deliver the F-16s and help Ukraine with training. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian foreign minister, said that the planes should be arriving in the coming months.
While visiting the 344th Army Aviation Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Army Aviation Pilots, Putin was asked about F-16s and if Russia would be "allowed to hit these targets at NATO airfields."
"First, if they supply F-16s, this will not change the situation on the battlefield. We will destroy their aircraft just like we are now destroying their tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple launch rocket systems," he said.
Putin continued, "Of course, we would see them as legitimate targets if they operate from the airfields of third countries, no matter where they are located. F-16 aircraft can also carry nuclear weapons, and we will also have to heed this while organizing our combat operations."
“If Putin wants a war with NATO, that’s how you start it. Then it will be a third world war”, Paasikivi told Swedish press agency TT. According to him, the fact that the F-16 can be equipped with nuclear weapons fits in well with the Russian narrative, which revolves around the image of the West as the great aggressor.
“For Putin, it is important to constantly present the West as the major threat to the domestic audience. The West’s so-called nuclear threat is at the centre of the entire Russian narrative”, Paasikivi said. Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development under ex-President Donald Trump's administration, took to X, , saying, "We shouldn't take Putin at his word. Far from it. I believe Russia is a serious threat to Eastern NATO."