It’s a Hard ‘No’ From the Pentagon to Poland’s Offer to Send U.S. Jets For Ukraine
The Pentagon on Wednesday firmly rejected a Polish proposal for providing Ukraine with MiG fighter jets, saying allied efforts against the Russian invasion should be focused on more useful weaponry and the MiG transfer with a U.S. and NATO connection would run a “high risk” of escalating the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded repeatedly for the U.S. to provide his military with more aircraft, which has been presented as an apparent alternative to establishing a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine to suppress Russian air power. The “no-fly” idea was rejected earlier by Washington and NATO as an unnecessary risk of escalation.
Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said the Biden administration and the Pentagon were looking at a proposal under which Poland would supply Kyiv with the Soviet-era fighters, which Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly, and in turn receive American F-16s to make up for the loss.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says the Defense Department is working to sort out the Polish jet debacle:
"There are important operational logistics concerns here and steps [&} conversations that should happen between military experts and that's exactly what's happening."
— Caitlin Doornbos (@CaitlinDoornbos) March 9, 2022
But Poland wanted no part of that, concerned about involving itself too directly in conflict with Russia. Poland then said it was prepared to hand over all 28 of its MiG-29 planes directly to NATO by flying them to the U.S. airbase in Ramstein, Germany, from where they would somehow be flown to Ukraine, which is the arrangement rejected by the Pentagon.
Dear @DeptofDefense: Respectfully, your rationale makes no sense. You’re fine with MiGs departing from a Polish base into contested Ukrainian airspace but not from a U.S. base in Germany? All are NATO countries. And it’s Ukrainians who would be flying the jets.
Just get it done. https://t.co/fb5tYnIm7Y
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 9, 2022
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that in a phone call, Zelensky on Wednesday again asked urgently for the United States to provide warplanes, anti-aircraft missiles, and other weaponry. However, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the MiG transfer proposal with his Polish counterpart and explained why Washington found it untenable. “Secretary Austin thanked the minister for Poland’s willingness to continue to look for ways to assist Ukraine,” Kirby said. “He 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.”
Today, I spoke with my Ukrainian counterpart @oleksiireznikov to discuss the continued provision of defensive security assistance & the impacts of Russia’s unprovoked, premeditated war against Ukraine. I commend the heroic Ukrainian efforts & proficiency on the battlefield. pic.twitter.com/Ui1T5l3Lvg
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) March 10, 2022
Kirby said Ukraine still has a significant number of its own aircraft, and the U.S. believes that adding aircraft from other nations “is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of the Ukrainian air force relative to Russian capabilities.” Also, the U.S. intelligence community has assessed that transferring MiG fighters to Ukraine “may be mistaken as escalatory and could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of a military escalation with NATO,” Kirby said.
Get the Effing clandestine #Logistics under ground SOP perfected before @NATO eastern front is contested ,,been saying for a week, establishing Red Lines for #Putin , he thinks we are scared of him . Deploy 2 @USArmy Tank Divisions. @SecDef @POTUS pic.twitter.com/SF6iliDBNR
— Russel L. Honore' (@ltgrusselhonore) March 9, 2022
Poland is a crucial ally in the Ukraine crisis. It is hosting thousands of American troops and is taking in more people fleeing the war in Ukraine than any other nation in the midst of the largest European refugee crisis in decades.