The Pentagon official said the move could be interpreted as an escalation.
Washington:
The Pentagon on Wednesday dismissed the conclusion of a plan to move fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine to fight Russian forces there, saying the “high-risk” move could be understood as an escalation.
The issue of jet transfers, which Ukraine’s leadership wants resolved as the country seeks to fend off Russian aggression in the skies, has proven to be a notable stumbling block in a solid alliance. between the United States and its European allies before the invasion of Moscow. .
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak on Wednesday and thanked him for Warsaw’s willingness to cooperate in efforts to assist Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters. reporter.
“But he stressed that we are not in favor of transferring more fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force at this time, and therefore we do not want to see them detained,” Kirby said.
Warsaw has expressed support for a plan in which Poland would send Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv via a US airbase in Germany, with the next step proposed. was that the United States would equip the Polish fleet with American Fs. -16 fighter planes.
“That’s something we’re not going to explore right now,” Kirby said, adding that adding the aircraft to Ukraine’s fighter fleet “is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness” of the Air Force. Ukraine before Russia’s ability.
“Therefore, we believe that the profits from the delivery of those MiG-29s are low.”
Kirby said the intelligence community has assessed that the transfer of MiGs to Ukraine “could be mistaken for an escalation and could lead to a substantial Russian response that could raise the prospect of military escalation.” with the NATO alliance.
“Therefore, we also assess the delivery of MiG-29s to Ukraine as high risk.”
The comments in the Pentagon filings appear to have ended – at least for now – as to a possible fighter jet delivery.
Kirby said the best way to support Ukraine’s defense is to provide them with the weapons they need most, especially air defense systems.
He added: “We, along with other countries, continue to send them these weapons and we know that they are being used very effectively.
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