KazPost

Kazakhstan News
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Worried Of "High Risk", US Nixes Polish Jet Offer To Ukraine

Worried Of "High Risk", US Nixes Polish Jet Offer To Ukraine

Pentagon spokesman told reporters that "we do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force" at this time.

The Pentagon on Wednesday conclusively rejected as too "high risk" a plan to transfer fighter jets from Poland to Kyiv to battle Russian forces, pouring cold water for now on Ukraine's bid for more firepower in the skies.

The scheme -- which the United States said it was actively studying before nixing it over concerns the Kremlin could interpret it as a military escalation -- has proven to be a notable hiccup in the otherwise solid alliance between Washington and European allies over Moscow's invasion.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak earlier Wednesday and thanked him for Warsaw's willingness to cooperate in the effort to assist Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

But during the call, Austin "stressed that we do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force at this time, and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody," Kirby said.

Warsaw had expressed support for a plan in which Poland would have sent its Soviet-era MiG-29s to Kyiv via a US air base in Ramstein, Germany, with the suggested follow-on step that the United States would backfill Poland's fleet with American F-16 fighter jets.

"That is something that we are not going to explore right now," Kirby said, adding that adding aircraft to Ukraine's fighter fleet was "not likely to significantly change the effectiveness" of the Ukrainian Air Force against Russian capabilities.

Kirby said intelligence agencies had warned that the MiG transfer to Ukraine "may be mistaken as escalatory and could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of a military escalation" with the NATO alliance.

"Therefore, we also assess the transfer of the MiG-29s to Ukraine to be high risk."

Indeed Moscow warned against the scheme.

"This is a highly undesirable and a potentially dangerous scenario," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

 'Send us planes'


The Pentagon spokesman insisted the best way to support Ukrainian defense is by providing them with weapons systems they need the most, particularly for air defense, that the United States and other nations continue to send Kyiv, and which are "being used with great effect."

That's cold comfort for a Ukraine defending itself against one of the world's premier military powers, as President Volodymyr Zelensky called in vain Wednesday for the jets debate to be favorably resolved.

"When will there be a decision? Look, we're at war!" he said in a video on his Telegram channel. "Send us planes."

Zelensky made the remarks with media reports swirling, after the Pentagon's preliminary rejection Tuesday of the transfer.

"We don't have time for the media, for all these signals," he added. "This isn't ping-pong. It's human lives."

The White House sought to paper over the dispute, with press secretary Jen Psaki describing it as "a temporary breakdown in communications" with the Poles.

Other Western powers also had expressed serious reservations.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking in Berlin alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, signalled his opposition to the jet offer.

Germany has given "significant" financial support to Ukraine, as well as offering humanitarian aid and some weapons, he said.

"Apart from that, we have to think very carefully about what we are doing, and this certainly does not include fighter jets," Scholz added.

Trudeau warned of the risk of "expanding or escalating" the war, saying that while Canada is eager to support Ukrainians, "we need to be mindful of the best way to support them."

Washington meanwhile announced it sent two Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to Poland to defend against any "potential threat" to US or NATO forces in the alliance's territory.

And Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in the country late Wednesday to attend meetings about the war in Ukraine.

Newsletter

Related Articles

KazPost
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
Corruption in the European Parliament - Business as usual
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
Paris Suburb Grapples with Violence as Curfew Imposed: Saint-Denis Residents Express Dismay and Anger
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
×