Providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets would be a “colossal risk” for western nations, a senior Russian minister has warned, as Washington and London reasserted their commitment to equipping the embattled nation with the military hardware it needs.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been pushing western allies to supply the jets for months, with Downing Street saying on Saturday that the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, had again discussed the matter with him at the G7 summit in Japan.
Russia’s warning comes after the US president, Joe Biden, told allies on Friday that Washington would back a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 and other modern fighter jets.
According to Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass, the country’s deputy foreign minister, Alexander Grushko, said: “We see that western countries are still adhering to the escalation scenario. It involves colossal risks for themselves. In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the goals we have set.”
On Saturday, No 10 welcomed Zelenskiy’s visit to the G7 as a “historic moment and a demonstration of the international community’s steadfast support for Ukraine against Russian aggression”.
Its statement added: “Following their discussion at Chequers earlier this week, the prime minister reiterated that the UK would continue to provide Ukraine with the military assistance needed to win the war and secure a just peace. The prime minister updated President Zelenskiy on the very positive progress at the G7 so far, including new sanctions against Russia and the provision of fighter jets.”
Zelenskiy used a visit to the UK in February to call for fighter jets to be added to the list of military equipment being provided by Nato allies – a claim he has repeated regularly as his nation seeks not only to prevent Russia taking any more of its territory, but to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s military denied claims Russia’s Wagner private military unit had taken full control of the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut and said its troops were continuing to fight there.
“This is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut,” the Reuters news agency quoted a military spokesperson, Serhiy Cherevatyi, as saying after the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said his forces had taken full control of the city.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the group’s head, made the claim in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners.
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“Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken,” Prigozhin said on Saturday. “We completely took the whole city, from house to house.” He said his forces would withdraw from the city from 25 May for rest and retraining, handing over control to the regular Russian army.
Distant explosions could be heard in the background as Prigozhin spoke during the video, Reuters reported.
Prigozhin repeated complaints he has frequently made in the past that his forces suffered far heavier losses than necessary because of inadequate support and ammunition supplies from the army.
Earlier this month, he threatened to pull his troops out after publishing a furious tirade against the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, while standing in a field of bloodied corpses.