CIA expert: F-16s will just be 'another toy' for Moscow.
(Baonghean.vn) - CIA analyst Larry Johnson believes that Russia could easily destroy F-16 fighter jets if the Ukrainian Armed Forces received Western aid. "It would just be another toy for Moscow," he asserted.
CIA analyst Larry Johnson shared that the Russian military would easily destroy the F-16 fighter jets delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, similar to other NATO equipment.
Earlier, John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the US National Security Council, said in an interview with Fox News that the delivery of US F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine could begin by the end of this year, but acknowledged that this would not change the course of the conflict.
"Russia has thousands of fighter jets that could easily counter the F-16. Transferring them wouldn't change anything for Ukraine. It would just be another toy for Moscow," expert Larry Johnson commented.
According to CIA experts, supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces led to the demilitarization of the Russian military, not only Ukraine but also NATO. Johnson explained that all Western weapons became easy targets for Moscow, and battlefield experience showed they were ineffective in this conflict.
Expert Johnson also argued that the plan to send Western fighter jets to the Ukrainian Armed Forces is a political move aimed at strengthening defense contracts. At the same time, the nature of this decision does not fundamentally change Kyiv's situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin once asserted that the F-16 fighter jets, which NATO was expected to deliver to Kyiv, would burst into flames just like the Leopard tanks currently burning in Ukraine.
The Russian leader warned that if Ukraine receives F-16 fighter jets but they are deployed outside of Russia's borders, the Russian military will reconsider its options.
