Washington — Offer to provide Ukraine Soviet-era fighter planes via Poland Biden is struggling to gain traction in the administration, and the US is reviewing is the plan viableAccording to three US officials.
collaborative effort to help Kyiv received fighter planes An offer has been received from its Eastern European neighbors in which Poland will send its old Russian-made MiG fighters to Ukraine and the US will replace them by sending F-16 jets to Warsaw.
At this point, however, US officials have warned that such a plan is not expected to be implemented any time soon.
“It’s much easier to move a plane than it is to arm,” a source familiar with the discussion said on Monday.
Officials said the US does not even have a surplus of F-16s.
Officials are similarly concerned that Russia could see the supply of military aircraft as a direct participation in the conflict. Polish President Andrzej Duda said last week that his country would not send any aircraft to Ukraine because it could be seen as interference in the war, while Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that the supply of fighter jets would be a direct participation.
The Polish embassy in Washington declined to comment.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the US was working with Poland on the issue but declined to discuss the timing. Three congressional aides said Ukraine has strong bipartisan support to help secure more fighter jets than Poland and has some impatience with the Biden administration on the issue.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has sought to boost his country’s security with new air power, ever since the US and NATO denied creating a no-fly zone in Ukraine.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday noted the “layers of varying, difficult logistics challenges” surrounding the proposal.
“This is Poland’s sovereign decision. We in no way oppose Poland to transfer planes to Ukraine,” Saki told reporters.
“There are many challenging practical questions, including how exactly the planes will be transferred from Poland to Ukraine, right? So, are they going to fly? Where will they depart? Where will they land? Those are all very important questions here, ” He said.
Saki said that sending F-16s to Poland and converting them to the US will face its own challenges. “It often takes years to procure new aircraft and transfer serious weapons systems from the United States,” she said.
The proposal came to the fore more than a week after the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters that some member states were ready to provide Ukraine with Soviet-era fighter jets.
Military analysts have said other Russian-made military equipment from Eastern European countries, including surface-to-air missiles and radars, could be of similar use as Ukraine fights back against Russia.
