Delivery of Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine has stalled back and forth between the US and Poland, and no country wants to take the first step in delivering Polish-owned jets that Vladimir Putin is considering. could. an act of war.
Ukraine is pleading with America and The European Union As for more fighters, by the way the Ukrainian military already knows how to operate. ,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr zelensky Spoke to US lawmakers over the weekend and asked them to help move jets, including the MiG-29, to Ukraine. Ukraine currently has between 37 and 70 MiG-29s.
Kyiv Only interested in a handful of aircraft its air force is familiar with, which do not include American jets – the MiG-29, Su-25 and MiG-21. These aircraft are currently used by Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland and Slovakia.
Of these, the MiG-29 is best equipped to counter the Russian air forces.
Poland currently has 28 MiG-29s.
Twin-engine jet fighter craft with RD-33 engines are powerful but short-range, originally developed during the Cold War in the 1970s to counter new American fighters such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. were designed. They were designed for combat against enemy aircraft but typically use air-to-surface weapons and precision weapons.
The MiG-29 can cost up to $8 million and is equipped with advanced radar, infrared tracking, long-range missiles and a 30MM autocannon with a 100-round magazine. They can reach Mach-2 speeds, or 1,500 mph.
The jet is the most numerous fighter jet of the Ukraine Air Force, although Ukraine’s best jets are about three dozen Su-27s.
During Russia’s invasion of Crimea, the Russians captured 45 MiG-29s from the Ukrainian Air Force.
Even if Ukraine were to get its hands on more MiG-29s, a potentially bigger issue is the lack of trained pilots. Ukraine has faced a dwindling air crew, after 70 resignations over the past two years citing low pay, cumbersome paperwork and inadequate training, which would not prepare them for war with the Russians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the United States and Poland of playing a game with people’s lives. ‘Listen,’ pleaded the Ukrainian leader, ‘we have a war! We don’t have time for all these signs. This is not ping pong! It’s about human life! We ask once again: solve it fast.’
‘Don’t change responsibility. Send us the plane,’ Zelensky demanded.
The Pentagon has poured cold water on Poland’s proposal to hand over all of its MiG-29 fighters to the US, apparently as part of an arrangement to deliver the warplanes to Ukraine’s armed forces, where they will be allowed to fight the invading Russian forces. desperate need for
Poland said it was ready to deploy all its MiG-29 jets at Ramstein Air Base “immediately and free of charge” and to place them “at the disposal of the Government of the United States”.
A Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum multirole fighter jet with the Polish Air Force
Poland reportedly surprised the US on Tuesday with a surprise offer to move planes to Rammstein Air Base in Germany, where the US could deliver them to Ukraine. He asked the US to restore its own air defense supplies with US-made F-16 jets.
But according to the U.S., Sec. Antony Blinken, of the state, was considering a deal that would see Poland itself to offer the jets to Ukrainian fighters, then the US could return Poland’s supplies.
“We are now actively looking into the question of the aircraft that Poland can provide to Ukraine and how Poland decides to supply those aircraft,” Blinken told reporters in Moldova on Sunday. could.”
After Poland’s surprise offer, the Pentagon Press Sec. John Kirby threw cold water at the idea. He said the Pentagon does not believe that the planes can be taken to a US airport in Germany and then taken back to Ukraine. He said that it was “ultimately up to the Polish government to offer Ukraine the Polish-owned aircraft”.
Kirby said, ‘It is not clear to us that there is a solid argument for this. ‘We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies regarding this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe that Poland’s proposal is a reasonable one.’
Kirby said the Polish proposal was too risky, as the US and NATO, of which Poland is a member, want to avoid engaging in direct conflict with the Russians. But supporters of the plane donation argue that the US has already given Ukrainians hundreds of millions of dollars in deadly aid.
The ‘possibility of fighter jets at the disposal of the United States government’ departing from a US/NATO base in Germany to fly over an airspace that is fought over Ukraine with Russia is of serious concern to the entire NATO coalition. subject is. Kirby said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted that Poland’s offer was not feasible due to “serious logistical constraints”.
‘This is a serious logistical bottleneck. There are clear concerns about flying the plane out of a USAirbase,’ she said.
Asked why the US can’t load them on trains and deliver them by land, he said: ‘Getting them on the road isn’t as easy as you think.’
‘Planes, if they have to take apart and put back together, you have to have people who can put those planes back together. You have to make sure they can be moved safely or not during a disputed country, you know, a country where there is a war going on.’
“There are many logistical, operational challenges in this,” said Saki. He said that talks were going on between the military leaders regarding the delivery of the planes.
Notably, Biden has promised not to put American boots on the ground in Ukraine, so American pilots could not fly the jet into the war zone for delivery.
Sources told CNN that Poland made the sudden announcement, when officials there were concerned about how the US was proceeding with an idea they had not signed over the weekend.
‘Poland will not send its fighters to Ukraine and at the same time will not allow the use of its air bases. We provide important help in many other areas,’ the Polish chancellor to the prime minister wrote in a tweet on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday to discuss how to improve Ukraine’s efforts to stop a Russian invasion. She will also stay in Romania.
A spokesman for the US European Command (EUCOM) said Tuesday night that the US is now sending two Patriot missile batteries to Poland as a “defensive deployment”.
Patriots are air defense missile systems designed to counter and destroy incoming short-range ballistic missiles, advanced aircraft and cruise missiles.
Ukrainian artillery is targeting Russian military trucks at Kozarovichi in Kyiv Oblast
Image: Russian tanks destroyed in the Sumy region of Ukraine on Monday, March 7
A Ukrainian tank rolled down a main road in Kyiv on Tuesday. Russia’s main offensive column halts outside the capital