Previously, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Vladimir Tarabrin, said that Russia views the fighter jets and the airfields from which they take off as legitimate military targets.
The Russian oil industry company “FORES” has announced a reward for the first person to shoot down a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet.
According to a statement released by the Russian Ministry of Defense, “FORES” will pay 15 million rubles (approximately $210,000) to the first military personnel who will shoot down a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet. The announcement comes during a ceremony where FORES also presented cash awards to Russian soldiers for destroying Western-supplied tanks in Ukraine.
“FORES” Director Ilya Potanin reportedly stated that this is the seventh such ceremony, with previous payouts of 500,000 rubles being awarded for each destroyed Leopard and Abrams tank. Potanin further revealed plans to extend the bounty program to include F-15 fighter jets, although the reward amount for subsequent downed F-16s and F-15s remains unspecified.
By now, multiple countries have already confirmed the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine.
In May, the Netherlands issued permission to export 24 F-16 fighter jets. Additionally, Norway will send six fighter jets to Ukraine, with the first aircraft to arrive this year.
