Ukraine news: Russia says it’ll destroy fighter jets

Russia said on Friday that all fighter jets supplied to Ukraine by Western countries would be destroyed after NATO members Poland and Slovakia pledged to send MiG-29 jets to Kiev.

After Russia invaded last year, NATO countries sent billions of dollars in military aid Ukraineas Kiev asks for weapons it says are vital to deter Russian advances.

Moscow has accused the West of directly participating in the conflict by supplying weapons to Ukraine, and earlier warned that NATO weapons are legitimate targets for its forces.

“During a special military operation, all that equipment is subject to destruction,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“So it looks like all these countries are busy destroying old junk,” he said.

Slovakia ordered F-16 fighter jets from the US in 2018 to replace its aging MiG-29 jets. Its fleet of 11 MiG-29s was retired last summer.

(Reporting by Reuters Editing by Alex Richardson)