The US on Tuesday rejected a proposal from Poland to send Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine by way of a US-NATO airbase in Germany, but is still working out how to fulfill Ukraine’s urgent request for more fighter planes in its war with Russia, US officials have told CNN, though a straightforward solution does not appear imminent.
The US and NATO want to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian troops invading the country, but also avoid being drawn into an outright conflict with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking the West for MiG-29 fighter jets, which were used during the Cold War and that Ukrainian pilots were trained to use, to maintain control of the skies in his country as it remains under attack by Russia.
Zelensky’s other request for help establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine has been rejected by the US and the alliance, who view it as a move that would pit them directly against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also warned that he would consider countries imposing a no-fly zone “as participants in a military conflict.”
With a no-fly zone off the table, the US has weighed the option of providing support to the Ukrainian military by helping facilitate the delivery of Polish fighter jets to Ukraine. But it has proven to be a thorny political issue and logistically complicated objective.
