Putin says he won’t start a war with NATO. But Western bases hosting Ukraine F-16s would be targets

By ILLIA NOVIKOV and BARRY HATTON
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has scoffed at the possibility of his country launching an attack on a NATO member, calling it “sheer nonsense.” But he warned late Wednesday that any Western air base hosting U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets that are slated for deployment in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target” for the Kremlin’s forces. Ukraine is awaiting the delivery of F-16s from its Western partners. That would increase the military pressure on Russia. Putin warned Ukraine’s Western allies against providing air bases in their countries from where the F-16s could launch sorties against the Kremlin’s forces. He said those bases would become a target in the war.