Russia says U.S.-built F-16s could 'accommodate' nuclear weapons if sent to Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: F-16 aircrafts fly during a NATO media event at an airbase in Malbork, Poland, March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Lukasz Glowala

(Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets can "accommodate" nuclear weapons and warned that supplying Kyiv with them will escalate the conflict further.

"We must keep in mind that one of the modifications of the F-16 can 'accommodate' nuclear weapons," Lavrov said in a speech at a military base in Dushanbe in Tajikistan, according to a transcript on the ministry's website.