Russia says F-16 jets in Ukraine will be seen as 'nuclear' threat

"We will regard the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere," Lavrov said.

Russia will regard Western F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine as a "nuclear" threat because of their capacity to carry atomic weapons, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (Reuters)

"We will regard the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere," Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Russian foreign ministry.