Russia says sending F-16 fighters to Ukraine will be seen as 'nuclear' threat

F-16 fighter jets delivered to Ukraine will be considered by Moscow as a "nuclear" threat because of their ability to carry atomic weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview on Thursday.

"We will consider the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere," Lavrov said in an interview with online daily Lenta.ru, which was quoted by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"Russia cannot ignore the capability of these devices to carry nuclear payloads," the Russian diplomacy chief stressed, saying that Moscow had warned the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

"The United States and its NATO satellites create risks of a direct armed confrontation with Russia and that can have catastrophic consequences," the minister said.

The US has long refused Ukraine's request to send F-16 fighter jets to prevent an escalation of the conflict, but agreed in May at Kiev's insistence.

The timetable for the delivery of the US-made aircraft and the exact number of fighters to be sent has not been announced.

Ukraine announced on Tuesday the formation of a "coalition" of eleven countries to train pilots to operate the fighters.