The US Rejects Poland’s offer to help Ukraine
New Delhi: The neighbor country of Ukraine – Poland’s plan to help Kyiv was rejected by the US on Tuesday. The Washington government rejected a Polish offer to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US airbase.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said “the prospect of the jets, placed at the disposal of the United States, flying from a US-NATO base into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.”
The Pentagon stated, “We will continue to talk with Poland and NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one.”
Those jets would subsequently be transferred to Ukraine, while the Polish air force would receive F-16 fighters as replacements, according to the planned scheme.
Ukraine has stepped up calls for Western allies to supply it with military jets in the face of the Russian invasion, but providing Kyiv with warplanes poses serious risks with NATO members unwilling to be deemed co-combatants by Moscow.
Kirby also stressed that Washington’s stance was that “the decision about whether to transfer Polish-owned planes to Ukraine is ultimately one for the Polish government.”
(Smit Soni)
