The United States has described Poland’s proposal as unsustainable. A spokesman for the U.S. administration said yesterday that there had been no prior coordination between the U.S. and Poland.
Poland’s offer to export Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via German air base “not sustainable”, US Defense Ministry spokesman said John Kirby in the bulletin.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said yesterday that it could hand over its old Mig-29 fighter jets to the United States at the German Ramstein air base, from where the United States would hand them over to Ukraine.
The United States was surprised by the announcement
The United States was surprised by Poland’s announcement. A spokesman for the U.S. administration said at a hearing in the country’s Senate yesterday that there had been no prior coordination between the U.S. and Poland.
The Polish government is free to decide whether to make the fighter jets available to Ukraine, Kirby said. However, according to him, the Polish proposal highlights the complexities involved.
“We will continue to discuss the issue with Poland and our other NATO allies and the logistical difficulties it creates, but we believe that Poland’s proposal will not be sustainable,” says Kirby.
Delivering fighters from NATO countries to Ukraine has been a sensitive issue because some in NATO fear it will make NATO a party to the war. The United States has been cautious about this in the past.