The Pentagon will send fighters late March 8 after the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it will deploy the MiG-29 jet at the Ramstein Air Force Base of the German U.S. Air Force and make it freely available to the government. He said he could not support Poland’s offer. Of the United States. “
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the deployment of 28 MiG-29s would be immediate and free of charge. “At the same time, Poland is asking the United States to provide used aircraft with the corresponding operational capabilities,” he said. statement..
The Polish government also called on other NATO member states that own MiG-29 planes to move the planes to the United States.
and statement Late March 8, Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said: Relations with Russia over Ukraine raise serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.
“It is simply not clear to us that it has a substantive rationale. We continue to work with Poland and other NATO allies on this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it poses. I will discuss it, but I do not believe that Poland’s proposal is supportive, “he said.
Kirby said the United States is “currently in contact” with the Polish government on this issue.
“As we said, the decision on whether to move a Polish-owned plane to Ukraine is ultimately a decision of the Polish government,” he said. “In fact, Poland’s proposal shows only a small part of the complexity presented by this issue, so we will continue to discuss with our allies and partners on continued security assistance to Ukraine.”
On March 8, Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told lawmakers that the Polish government’s announcement regarding the delivery of fighters had “not been discussed in advance.” She said she learned about her proposal while driving to testify about the crisis in Ukraine in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensified on February 24, Ukraine has demanded additional fighters and weapons from its Western allies and imposed a no-fly zone.
NATO chiefs and White House officials said they were not considering no-fly zones. That is because it means that a NATO or US plane will shoot down a Russian plane.
On March 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said countries that impose no-fly zones on Ukraine would be considered to participate in the conflict.
On March 6, the Russian Ministry of Defense declared that countries that allowed Ukrainian-operated planes to attack Russian troops from their territory were considered to have participated in the conflict.
Neither NATO nor the European Union want to be considered directly involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Polish President Andrzej Duda earlier said on March 1 that NATO would not move planes directly into Ukrainian airspace. “We are not sending jets to Ukraine because it can cause military interference in the conflict in Ukraine,” he said. “We are not involved in the dispute. NATO is not a party to the dispute.”
The United States also has no plans to move the plane directly to Ukraine.
The United States announced on March 6 that Poland is considering a proposal to supply Ukraine with the MiG-29 and then receive the US F-16. Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly the MiG-29, first manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
Under the proposal, Poland delivered the fighter to a US base in Germany, where it was repainted and flew to non-NATO, non-European Union countries. After that, Ukrainian pilots will come to fly them to Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with CBS News on March 6 that the proposal “gets a green light.” United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield also on the same day interview At ABC.
“We have been in close discussion with the Polish government and other NATO allies on this issue. We are never opposed to the Polish government offering these jets to Ukraine. You point out. As we did, we are looking for ways to backfill them, “said Thomas Greenfield.
Former Soviet block NATO member countries Bulgaria and Slovakia also still have Soviet fighters in the Air Force. Ukrainian parliament previously claimed On March 1st, Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria sent Russian-made MiG-29s. Since then, defense officials in Bulgaria and Slovakia have revealed no plans to make such donations.
Bill Pan, Jack Phillips, Katabella Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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