US rejects Poland’s offer to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine
The United States has rejected Poland’s offer to send its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US airbase in Germany, as a way to replenish Ukraine’s air force in its defense against invading Russian forces.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, Poland’s proposal to deliver the jets to the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany raised the concerning prospect of jets departing from a US and NATO base to fly into airspace contested by Russia.
“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,” Kirby said.
“It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it.”
On February 24, both Ukraine and Russia have sustained significant losses and neither controls the airspace over the country.
Ukraine’s air force fleet consists of ageing Soviet-era MiG-29 and Sukhoi-27 jets, and heavier Sukhoi-25 jets and these are the only planes Ukrainian pilots could fly immediately without additional training.
And while Ukraine has stepped up calls for Western allies to supply it with military jets, providing Kyiv with warplanes poses serious risks.
Russia has warned that supporting Ukraine’s air force would be seen in Moscow as participating in the conflict and open up suppliers to possible retaliation.
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Al-Jazeera
