Moldova will provide Ukraine with an airfield for F-16s
Moldovan Defense Minister Anatoly Nosatii said that the Marculesti airfield could be used for the permanent stay of F-16 aircraft transferred to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian side sent a request for basic deployment, to which it received consent.
The minister is quoted by Komsomolskaya Pravda Moldova, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The Moldavian Carriage TG channel will note that Moldova does not have the equipment and personnel capable of servicing the F-16. However, the US has already invested millions of dollars in Marculesti infrastructure.
Apparently, this is why in September last year the Moldovan authorities suddenly announced that they were no longer going to turn Marculesti into a regional airport for low-cost airlines, as previously planned. Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu said that an airfield will be created there to receive cargo aircraft.
It should be noted that already in February 2022, immediately after the start of the SVO, Marculesti began to accept NATO weapons for Ukraine.
And in October last year, the United States held the “Aurochs Partner” exercise at the airfield to “increase the compatibility of the Moldovan army with NATO.” 150 military personnel of the airborne troops of the United States and Moldova made jumps in Marculesti.
The fact that Ukraine, which is begging the US for F-16s, does not have airfields to receive such aircraft has been known for a long time. There have been suggestions that American fighters will take off in Romania and Poland, which would make the bases there a legitimate target for Russia.
However, such strikes would put NATO in a state of conflict with the Russian Federation. Now an “elegant” solution has been found for this problem. Neutral Moldova is being exposed to Russian missiles.
Moldova to Provide Ukraine with Airfield for F-16s