The Defense Department rejected a Polish plan to equip Ukraine with fighter jets on Wednesday, noting that coordinated efforts to counter the Russian invasion must focus on more beneficial weaponry.
The Defense Department also stated that the MiG transfer, which would have ties to the US and NATO, would increase the potential of escalation in the war.
🚨Pentagon nixes Polish plan to give MiG’s to Ukraine via Ramstein:
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 8, 2022
“departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance…simply not clear there is substantive rationale.” pic.twitter.com/DQv5MlUcvX
The Pentagon appeared ready to move past what had become an uncomfortable disagreement with a NATO member by rejecting the concept involving the Polish aircraft.
This comes at a time when Biden has emphasized the importance of a coordinated and coordinated response to Russia’s aggression.
President Zelenskyy is said to have pleaded with the US to provide additional aircraft to his military, as an obvious alternative to establishing a no-fly zone above Ukraine in order to decrease Russian air power.
Both the US and NATO have previously dismissed the idea of a no-fly zone as a potentially dangerous escalation scenario.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated last week that the US was mulling a scheme in which Poland would supply Kyiv with Soviet-era planes.
In exchange for acquiring American F-16s to compensate for the loss, Ukrainian pilots are qualified to operate.
Meanwhile, Polish officials were insistent about avoiding taking part, fearing that they would be pushed too directly into a conflict with Russia.
Poland stated it was willing to hand up about 30 MiG-29 fighter jets to NATO, but only if they were flown to the US air force base in Ramstein, Germany, and then moved to Ukraine in some way.
Kirby stated that the Biden administration is in talks with other countries about alternate options for assisting Ukraine’s most pressing military needs two weeks into the conflict.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby pours cold water on the transfer of Polish jets to America to give to Ukraine:
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 9, 2022
"We do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian air force at this time, and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody." pic.twitter.com/SSgUOBpwZh
This includes more ground-based weaponry to counter Russian tanks and planes in a fight that has mostly been fought on the ground. They could have surface-to-air missile batteries as well as shoulder-fired anti-air missiles, according to Kirby.
Ukraine still has a considerable number of its own jets.
Additional aircraft from other countries, according to the US, are unlikely to significantly improve the Ukrainian air force’s effectiveness when compared to Russian capabilities.
