The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
EXPLAINER: Why does Ukraine need foreign warplanes?
In a private video call with American lawmakers over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a “desperate” plea to the United States to help Kyiv get more warplanes to fight Russia’s invasion and retain control of its airspace.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington has given a “green light” to the idea and is currently “very, very actively” looking at a proposal under which Ukraine’s neighbor Poland would supply Kyiv with Soviet-era fighters and in turn receive American F-16s to make up for their loss.
However, the proposition is fraught with uncertainty and Poland has been less than enthusiastic about it in public, largely because Russia has warned that supporting Ukraine’s air force would be seen in Moscow as participating in the conflict and open up suppliers to possible retaliation. Official comment from NATO and European Union member Poland has been only to confirm continuing talks on the subject.
Why does Ukraine need warplanes?
Ukraine’s air force uses Soviet-made Mig-29 and Su jet fighters to defend its skies and territory from Russia’s military invasion that began Feb. 24 and has appealed for more warplanes to be able to continue the mission in the long run.
The air force has been far outnumbered by the much more powerful Russian air force, but Ukrainian pilots have continued to fly combat sorties and claim kills in combat despite repeated assertions
by the Russian military that it has suppressed Ukraine’s air power and air defense assets.
Why not US warplanes?
Ukraine’s military pilots
aren’t trained to fly U.S. jet fighters and would be far more equipped to handle MIG-29 or Su planes that are currently used by former Soviet-bloc NATO members Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia.