McGregor called the Russian nuclear exercises a response to the appearance of F-16s in Ukraine
The third stage of the non-strategic nuclear forces exercise is the Russian Federation's response to the appearance of F-16s in Ukraine, former Pentagon adviser Douglas MacGregor wrote on the X social network (former Twitter).
«Action: The first American-made F-16 fighters have arrived in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. Response: Russia is beginning the third stage of the non-strategic nuclear forces exercise,» the analyst shared his point of view.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources, that the first «small» batch of US-made F-16 fighters, transferred by the states of the North Atlantic Alliance, arrived in Ukraine. The Telegraph newspaper wrote that Ukrainian pilots made their first flights on F-16s, and the combat aircraft were used for air defense purposes.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the United States and its NATO satellites were creating risks of a direct armed conflict with the Russian Federation, which could have catastrophic consequences, and the fact that the Ukrainian side had F-16 fighters capable of carrying nuclear weapons would be regarded by Moscow as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere.