Poland, US ‘work on deal’ to send jets to Ukraine | Russia-Ukraine war News

Kyiv wants allies to send warplanes to fight Russia, as Warsaw and Washington reportedly consider the deal to make it happen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the United States to help in getting more fighter jets to his military amid reports that officials in Washington are working on a deal with Poland to provide Kyiv with used Russian aircraft.

Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that Zelenskyy, in a call on Saturday with US Congress members, asked Washington to facilitate the transfer of planes from Eastern European allies.

Multiple news outlets reported that the US and Poland are working together to provide Polish Soviet-era warplanes to Ukraine.

Four US officials told Politico the two governments are working on a deal, with the question of how to transfer the planes being the biggest difficulty in a potential arrangement.

“We are working with the Poles on this issue and consulting with the rest of our NATO allies,” a White House spokesperson told Politico.

“We are also working on the capabilities we could provide to backfill Poland if it decided to transfer planes to Ukraine.”

‘We are not standing in the way’

A US defence official confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that Washington is working with allied nations to provide Ukraine with Russian-made aircraft, adding that the US military would backfill them with American warplanes.

Ukrainian military pilots are trained on Russian-made warplanes.

But The Associated Press news agency reported that there appeared to be a logistical problem in sending F-16s to Poland or other East European allies because of a production backlog.

“These countries would essentially have to give their MiGs to the Ukrainians and accept an IOU from the US for the F-16s. The situation is further complicated because the next shipment of F-16s is set for Taiwan, and Congress would be reluctant to delay those deliveries as it eyes China,” it said.

Zelenskyy also spoke by phone to US President Joe Biden on Saturday, but a White House readout said the two leaders discussed US, allies’ and private industry actions to deter Russia, without mentioning the issue of fighter jets.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the Poland-Ukraine border on Saturday, saying after the meeting: “We are talking about and working on everything.”

“The entire world stands with Ukraine, just as I am standing here in Ukraine with my friend,” Blinken said.

In his call with the Congress members, Zelenskyy also repeated his plea for a no-fly zone over Ukraine and for the US to stop buying Russian oil, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Ukrainian president previously said the absence of a no-fly zone allowed Russia to continue bombing Ukrainian cities and towns. He has also criticised NATO for refusing to impose the no-fly zone, warning that “all the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Western powers against the no-fly zone, saying it would be seen as a direct step into the military conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Russia unleashed a full-scale invasion of Ukraine late last month, sending shockwaves to the world.

Western countries have hit the Russian economy with crippling sanctions since then, including removing major Russian banking entities from the SWIFT global transfer system.

Many Western states have also helped Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid.