Moldova’s defense ministry has slammed fake news that it allegedly gave permission to transit F-16 fighters across the country’s territory, with the fighters supposedly being transported to Ukraine.
The report was made by Newsmaker, European Pravda said.
Disinformation has started to spread in recent days, especially on Telegram channels. The posts claimed that President Maia Sandu had allegedly granted permission for the transit of fighter jets through Moldova, and that the defense ministry had allegedly allowed the deployment of these fighters for Ukraine at the Mărculeşti airfield.
Rumors were also spread that Moldova was „preparing the Ukrainian military for an invasion of Transnistria”.
The defense ministry did not provide a full denial of a report that Sandu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed that Ukrainian F-16s would be allowed to fly through Moldova’s airspace.
The fake news about the alleged deployment of Ukrainian fighter jets in Mărculeşti was denied two weeks ago.
The Pentagon expects Ukraine to receive its first F-16 fighters and spare parts and infrastructure this year.
At the end of December, the first six Ukrainian pilots completed basic training with the UK’s Royal Air Force and are currently learning to fly F-16 fighter jets in Denmark.
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