On Wednesday, the United States (US) rejected Poland’s proposal to send 28 MiG fighter jets to Ukraine to fight against the Russian invasion, saying the alliance against Russia should focus on “more useful weaponry” such as air defence systems rather than fighter jets.
BREAKING - Pentagon response to Poland's proposal on jets: "We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one.”
— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 8, 2022
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken with Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak and expressed his gratitude over the latter’s willingness to aid Ukraine. “But he [Lloyd Austin] stressed that 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, either,” Kirby added.
#UPDATE The Pentagon on Wednesday conclusively rejected as too "high risk" a plan to transfer fighter jets from Poland to Kyiv to battle Russian forces, pouring cold water for now on Ukraine's bid for more firepower in the skies
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 10, 2022
✍️@MichaelMathes
➡️ https://t.co/rZb5bPcUG2 pic.twitter.com/2ZsEoFpOZS
Additionally, Kirby stated that the US will not explore this option right now, as adding more aircraft to the Ukrainian air force won’t change their effectiveness. Citing the intelligence community’s assessment, Kirby further said that transfer of MiGs to Ukraine could be seen as escalatory and lead to a significant reaction from Russia.
Statement by @US_EUCOM on the Poland/jet tangle: "USEUCOM assesses the military usefulness of additional fixed wing air to Ukraine will be high-risk and low gain. The transfer of MiG-29 aircraft will not appreciably increase the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Air Force."
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) March 10, 2022
Echoing similar thoughts, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he did not support Poland’s proposal to send fighter jets to Ukraine via the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Speaking at a press conference with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, Scholz said Germany had already sent humanitarian aid and defensive weapons to Ukraine.
“Apart from that, we have to think very carefully about what we are doing, and this certainly does not include fighter jets,” Scholz added.
Poland’s proposal to assist Ukraine came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the US to provide Ukraine with warplanes, anti-aircraft missiles, and other weaponry to better combat Russian air power.
⚡️Zelensky urges Poland, US to decide on logistics of sending fighter jets to Ukraine immediately.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 9, 2022
“Listen, we have a war! We do not have time for all these signals,” Zelensky said. “It’s about human lives! We ask once again: Solve it faster. Do not shift the responsibility.”
Poland proposed sending Soviet-era 28 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via the US military base in Germany. Additionally, it suggested that the US can replace its fleet with its F-16 fighter jets. However, Poland walked back from the proposal on Wednesday, with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying that providing Ukraine with fighter jets has to be a unanimous decision.
Zelensky has also sought a “no-fly-zone” to protect Ukraine from air bombing. However, this demand, too, was rejected by the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) due to the high risk of escalation. In contrast, the decision was welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had warned of “tremendous and disastrous” consequences for Europe and the world if they had declared a “no-fly-zone.”
NATO is also reluctant to offer Ukraine membership, as it is concerned that this could further destabilise the region and also pull it into a war that it does not want to participate in, due to the Alliance’s governing principle of collective self-defence.