The Pentagon on Tuesday rejected Poland’s proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. air base in Germany amid the intensifying Russian war in Ukraine.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby released a statement Tuesday evening calling the proposal untenable.
Poland proposed a plan Tuesday to transfer the jets to the Ramstein Air Base to then go to Ukraine to help their fight against Russia.
“The prospect of fighter jets ‘at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America’ departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance,” Kirby said.
“It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it. We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one,” he added.
Poland’s plan came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with the U.S. to transfer the MiG-29 jets to the country on Saturday.
In Poland’s statement Tuesday, it called on other NATO allies with those types of jets, which Ukrainian soldiers are trained to use, to transfer them to Ukraine.
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Pentagon: Polish proposal to send MiG-29 fighter jets to US air base not "tenable" https://t.co/GyHFJ17Ltv pic.twitter.com/xzJBn82CDn
— The Hill (@thehill) March 9, 2022
Poland gives all its MIG-29 planes to the US at Ramstein. Germany. Elegant. https://t.co/k2URWeF4s6
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 8, 2022
Coulda seen that coming. https://t.co/qoPPrWf10w
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 9, 2022
The U.S. has all but shut the door on arming Ukraine with fighter jets after the Pentagon rejected Poland's offer.
The Pentagon noted that providing jets could be seen by Russia as an act of aggression and lead to an escalation of its attack. https://t.co/EDnb6UiavE
— POLITICO (@politico) March 9, 2022
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