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Because Ukraine needs Poland’s Mig-29s

2 years ago babelfish

Because Ukraine needs Poland’s Mig-29s

The US is asking Poland to send war jets, including Russian and Soviet-made Mig-29s, to Ukraine in exchange for American F-16s, Secretary of State Blinken said. But there are logistical and other issues to be resolved. Facts and insights

Coming soon for the Ukrainian defense fighter Mig-29 from Poland?

The US "actively works" with Poland to send war jets, including Russian and Soviet-made Mig-29s, to Ukraine in exchange for American F-16s. This was confirmed on Sunday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Moldova, before making a stop in the Baltic countries, while today he will fly to Paris to Emmanuel Macron to continue coordinating the Western response to the Russian invasion.

This would be the strongest, and riskiest, move in the supply of armaments to Kiev, which has also solicited Stinger drones and anti-aircraft missiles , stresses Ansa . The plan of Washington and allies is to accelerate military aid to allow Ukrainians to defend themselves and then to support a possible long-term urban warfare.

Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria have Mig-29 aircraft that Ukrainian pilots can fly. But Poland had initially rejected the idea of ​​sending its MIGs to Ukraine, fearing retaliation from Moscow.

As admitted today also by the British Defense Minister Ben Wallace. The latter said Britain would support Poland if it decides to supply Ukraine with fighter jets. However, he warned that this could have direct consequences for Poland.

And both Warsaw and Washington are still cautious on the issue.

"Regarding the dispatch of planes, I can only repeat that no decision has been made on the matter," Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller reiterated Sunday.

In addition, the White House and the Pentagon also downplayed the likelihood of an agreement on sending MiG-29 aircraft from Poland to Ukraine in exchange for American F-16 fighters on Monday.

All the details.

COMING MIG-29 FROM POLAND?

US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, told CNN yesterday that the alliance is not ready to proceed with the imposition of a no-fly zone over the skies of Ukraine, an initiative that Russia could consider a de facto declaration of war. ( I'll explain why the no fly zone over Ukraine is not feasible. General Arpino speaks on Startmag ).

Smith added, however, that some of the Alliance member countries are taking initiatives aimed at "providing lethal assistance to Ukraine and assets necessary for its security needs."

In particular, the ambassador confirmed that US officials are discussing the potential dispatch of Soviet-era Mig-29 fighters to Ukrainian forces with the Polish government. “This is a sovereign decision that belongs to Poland. The US has reported that it is ready to discuss some of the challenges inherent in that plan. There are a number of open questions regarding the number of Ukrainian pilots available, and how those aircraft would actually be transferred from Poland to Ukraine. We are working on it right now, ”said the ambassador.

UK SUPPORT

Meanwhile, support from the UK arrives. "I would support the Poles and whatever choice they made," Defense Minister Wallace told Sky News . So far, Britain has provided Ukraine with defensive weapons and other military and humanitarian aid.

"We would protect Poland, we will help them with everything they need," he said. The minister added that the UK could not offer aircraft that Ukrainians would be able to use. "Poland will understand that the choices they make will not only directly help Ukraine, which is good, but could also bring it into a direct line of fire from countries like Russia or Belarus," admitted Wallace.

I HUNTED FOR POLAND, BULGARIA AND SLOVAKIA

And indeed rumors about Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria sending old fighters to Ukraine started circulating as early as February 27 by official representatives of the Ukrainian government and the armed forces.

“Several Eastern European countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia keep dozens of Russian-made aircraft in their inventories but are reluctant to give up those aircraft without US guarantees that they can replace them,” Politico recalls.

Last week, Poland's President Andrzej Duda ruled out sending Polish fighters to Ukraine to bolster his resistance from Russia. This move would drag NATO into the conflict.

Bulgaria and Slovakia also rejected the idea. Bulgaria said it needed its MIG-29 for its air defense.

On that occasion, Ukrainian officials told Politico that many of their pilots had already arrived in Poland for the transfer, but the deal stalled.

THE POSITION OF WARSAW

In reality, more than stalled, until this weekend Poland has denied any possibility of sending its Mig fighters to Kiev, as reported by Defense News.

On Saturday, the Polish government branded claims that it has supplied or will supply its MIGs to Ukraine as "fake news". A tweet from the General Command of the Polish Armed Forces responded to a statement, saying: "All MiG29 aircraft of the Polish Air Force remain in their bases."

The Polish Prime Minister's Chancellery said in a tweet: “Poland will not send its fighter planes to Ukraine and will not allow its airports to be used. We help significantly in many other areas ”.

CAREFUL WHITE HOUSE AND PENTAGON

And yesterday even the White House and the Pentagon downplayed the likelihood of a US-Polish fighter agreement.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby also tried to mitigate expectations. "We are at the beginning of a discussion," said the Pentagon spokesman, as reported by Defense News . "It is not an agreement concluded at this point".

It is unclear how many US planes would be involved or how they would be transported, Kirby added.

THE POLISH FLEET

The availability of Polish MiG-29s at the moment could impact a potential deal, aviation expert Richard Aboulafia, CEO of AeroDynamic Advisory, told DefenseNews .

“Those are very old planes and the Polish Air Force has prioritized F-16s for years,” Aboulafia said.

Poland's 94 fighter aircraft include 48 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters it began acquiring from the United States in 2006 and 28 MiG-29s.

Additionally, Defense News recalls that in 2020 Warsaw signed a $ 4.6 billion deal for 32 F-35s made by Lockheed Martin. The first F-35 will arrive in 2024, making old Russian-made aircraft expendable only then.

THE QUESTIONS TO BE SOLVED

Finally, in addition to the question of the old Mig-29s that can be spent or not for the Polish aviation, there are other problems.

“There is also a backlog of F-16 production, which means that countries potentially giving away their MiG and Su fighters to Ukraine would have to wait for some time,” AP reports. “The F-16 production line has only recently reopened,” Airforcemag points out. And it will take some time for Lockheed Martin to start delivering the completed planes.

To make things even "more complicated", points out the Times , "many of those fighters are promised to Taiwan", where the US has major strategic interests. "

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ucraina-usa-polonia-a-inviare-mig-29/ on Tue, 08 Mar 2022 10:09:42 +0000.