Amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the threat of nuclear war again. Putin strongly warned against the possible transfer of US-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine during a visit to a Russian air force facility. He said: "We will also have to take this into account when organizing our combat operations because the F-16s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons." Putin vowed that, as with previous military equipment provided by the West, Russia would target and destroy these planes.

His admonition coincides with talks between several NATO allies about providing Kiev with F-16s. There have been no deliveries yet. A number of countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium, have pledged to contribute F-16s.Ukraine's ability to launch long-range missile attacks on Russian infrastructure can be enhanced with the F-16. One of the reasons Ukraine's counteroffensive failed last year was that it was conducted without air cover, leaving its forces vulnerable to Russian artillery and aircraft. 

The conflict in Ukraine has been overshadowed by the nuclear threat since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. Putin has put his country's nuclear weapons on high alert in 2022, the first such order since the end of the Cold War. Moscow again threatened directly, saying that if the US provided Ukraine with longer-range missiles in September 2022, it would cross a "red line". Putin raised the issue of Russia's nuclear capabilities earlier this month. Moscow is said to have the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, with some 5,000 warheads.

Air defense experts say US-made F-16 fighter jets would give Ukraine an advantage over Russia's air force, but only if paired with powerful missiles and targeting data — both of which would require Western help and manage the risk of attracting Ukrainian allies from the West to become more actively involved in the conflict.

This is the characteristic of Russian society and the Russian people. Not sure if this is possible in other countries. "Individuals volunteer to join the army with the understanding that they will eventually be deployed to combat zones," the Russian president said.

"And our men, Russian men, understand what awaits them, understand that they can lay down their lives for their homeland or be seriously injured, they still do it knowingly and voluntarily." Moscow has been recruiting foreign fighters for its war in Ukraine in recent weeks and using a variety of tactics to target the population of Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic that borders Russia, Armenia and Cuba. There have also been rumors that migrant workers with Russian citizens are being hired to fight in Ukraine.