Wanting NATO To Be Compact On Fighter Jets For Ukraine, Poland: Impossible To Supply Own Planes, Taking Risks

Illustration of Polish MiG-29 fighter jet. (Wikimedia Commons/konflikty.pl)

JAKARTA - Any supply of fighter jets to Ukraine must be carried out jointly by NATO countries (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Poland's prime minister said on Wednesday, after Washington rejected Poland's offer to fly all MIG-29 jets to US air bases in Germany with the goal is given to Kyiv.

Asked about the Polish MiG offer, the Kremlin previously described it as a potentially dangerous and undesirable scenario.

Ukraine has pleaded with Western countries to support them with fighter jets to counter the Russian invasion, which has forced more than two million refugees to flee the country. US lawmakers have responded by pushing the administration of President Joe Biden to facilitate the transfer of the plane.

On Tuesday, Poland said it was ready to deploy all MIG-29 jets to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and hand them over to the United States, urging other NATO members to do the same. The Pentagon later rejected the offer because it was not 'tenable'.

"A serious decision such as supplying aircraft must be unanimously and firmly made by the entire North Atlantic alliance," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference in the Austrian capital Vienna broadcast on Polish television.

"We don't agree to supply the planes ourselves, because that should be the decision of the whole of NATO," he added.

Meanwhile, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told public radio station Polskie Radio 1 that Poland should prioritize its security when considering the supply of jets to Ukraine.

"It is impossible for Poland, as the only NATO country, to take the risk and other countries do not need to compensate or share it with us in any way," he said.

As previously reported, the United States announced it was closing the door to supplying warplanes to Ukraine, saying the intelligence community assessed it would be a "high-risk" move that could increase the likelihood of Russia's escalation with NATO, on Wednesday.

"The intelligence community has assessed that the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine may be mistaken as an escalation and could result in a significant Russian reaction, which could increase the prospect of a military escalation with NATO. Therefore, we also assess that the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine is a high risk," said Kirby.

Earlier, Russia's Defense Ministry warned this week that countries offering airfields to Ukraine, let alone flying fighter jets, for attacks against Russia could be considered to have entered the conflict.

To note, the MiG-29 is a fighter jet developed in the Soviet Union and since the Ukrainian military has flown Russian-made aircraft, it is the best option for Ukrainian pilots who already know how to operate them, experts say.

Meanwhile, fighter pilot training on US-made aircraft can take years and require a different pipeline for maintenance.