A military airfield near the western Ukrainian city of Starokonstantinov apparently has the relevant infrastructure to house the West’s F-16 fighter jets Ukraine is due to receive, Viktor Litovkin, a retired Russian Army colonel and military analyst, told Sputnik when commenting on reports about the possibility of these warplanes being stationed there.
"It seems the Soviet-era Starokonstantinov facility has been well-prepared for receiving the F-16s, which typically need an advanced airfield, fitted with not just a runway, but a commander's tower, radar stations as well as small plants for the production of high-pressure air and purification of aviation kerosene as well," Litovkin said.
Additionally, there should be hangars or warehouses for storing ammunition, air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface missiles, plus concrete hangars for warplanes so that they are not destroyed on the ground in case of an enemy attack, according to the Russian analyst.
All this infrastructure may currently be in place at the Starokonstantinov airfield, the expert suggested.
Russian aviation repeatedly hammers the Starokonstantinov airfield, as well as others, which means that Moscow's top brass is aware of Ukraine's intentions and is keeping a watchful eye on those airfields, the analyst explained.
The main goal of the airstrikes is to destroy the facilities and prevent the F-16s from being deployed on Ukrainian territory, Litovkin pointed out. He added that Russian forces most likely use the powerful Iskander missiles during the airstrikes to do maximum damage to the Ukrainian military airfields, including the Starokonstantinov facility.
The Netherlands and Denmark were among the first countries to agree to supply F-16s to Ukraine. The White House later confirmed that Kiev would receive the US-made jets from third countries once Ukrainian pilots complete the training to fly them
Russia will treat F-16 multi-role fighter jets operated by Ukraine as nuclear-capable assets, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement in May.
"We cannot ignore the fact that these planes are dual-purpose platforms that can be used both for nuclear and non-nuclear tasks… No matter what modification of the aircraft will be supplied [to Ukraine] we will treat them as nuclear-capable and we will consider this step of the United States and NATO as a purposeful provocation," the ministry underscored.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, stressed that even if the West finally delivers the F-16s to the Kiev regime, “this will not change the situation on the battlefield.”