Russia President Vladimir Putin said that his military will destroy any F-16s sent to Ukraine "wherever they are" while also saying his country has no intention of attacking any NATO countries.
The F-16s in question are ones that the United States authorized to be sent to Kyiv as it attempts to defend itself from Russia, Knewz.com has learned.
According to Newsweek, Putin was answering a question while visiting the 344th Army Aviation Center where pilots are trained when he made the comments.
"Of course, if they are used from airfields of third countries, they become a legitimate target for us, no matter where they are," Putin said. "We will destroy their planes in the same way that we destroy their tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment, including multiple launch rocket systems," he added, according to a transcript on the Kremlin website.
Putin was reiterating claims that he would strike F-16s given to Ukraine by the U.S. and its allies whether they're kept in Ukraine or elsewhere.
"The F-16s are also carriers of nuclear weapons, and we will also have to take this into account when organizing combat work," Putin said, adding that the addition of the aircraft "will not change anything on the battlefield."
Despite the comments, Putin appeared to contradict himself by saying that Russia would not strike a NATO country.
"It's complete nonsense the possibility of an attack on some other countries, on Poland, the Baltic States, and elsewhere," Putin said.
Putin's latest comments come as at least one NATO country, Poland, has said it would consider shooting down Russian missiles that enter its airspace.
As Knewz.com reported on Tuesday, March 26, Poland Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Andrzej Szejna said his country is considering such actions after multiple close calls with Russia.
"NATO is analyzing different concepts, including that such missiles should be shot down when they are very close to the NATO border — but this should happen with the consent of the Ukrainian side and taking into account international consequences," Poland Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Andrzej Szejna said on RMF FM radio, according to an X post from Ukrainian internal affairs advisor Anton Gerashchenko.
"In this case, NATO missiles would hit Russian missiles outside the territory of the Alliance Treaty," he added.
The possibility of NATO shooting down a Russian missile would likely have significant circumstances. Thus far, NATO has avoided direct contact with Moscow in connection to the Russia-Ukraine war.
But Russia President Vladimir Putin has said that the globe is "one step" away from a world war, and shooting down a missile from the Kremlin could be seen as Western provocation.
Szejna's comments come two days after a Russian missile entered Polish airspace before striking down in Ukraine.
As Knewz.com reported on Sunday, March 24, Poland is demanding an explanation regarding the incident from Moscow, as this is not the first time a Russian aerial attack has passed through Polish airspace.
The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command stated that a Russian cruise missile entered the airspace of Poland "near the town of Oserdow (Lublin Voivodeship) and stayed there for 39 seconds," according to The Guardian.
"I've said before that Russia will use different ways to poke NATO and look at its reaction. Russia might not want to attack NATO directly, it will be happy if NATO just breaks down. Is NATO becoming aware of the threat?" Gerashchenko wrote on X on Tuesday, March 26.
NATO has some 90,000 troops deployed in response to Russia's aggression. The alliance performed wargames just outside the country's border earlier this month.