Poland won't send fighter jets to Ukraine or allow use of airports

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Poland has confirmed on Sunday that it will not send MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine or allow the use of its airports in the conflict.

"Poland won’t send its fighter jets to #Ukraine as well as allow to use its airports. We significantly help in many areas," the office of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a Twitter post today, slamming any such circulated news as fake.

‼️FAKE NEWS‼️
Unfortunately you are spreading misinformation with quotation from 27/02/22.

Poland won't send its fighter jets to #Ukraine as well as allow to use its airports. We significantly help in many other areas.https://t.co/wjNOgh97JT

— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) March 6, 2022

The PM's statement comes following US reports published on Saturday about the US and Poland discussing a deal on how to send Soviet-Era fighter jets to Ukraine.

Four US officials told the US Politico that the two countries were holding talks on Poland a MIG-29 fighter jet to Ukraine.

While Politico said that the authorization, might take a while, The Wall Street Journal wrote that the deal between the US and Poland is possible, quoting US officials.

In the latest move to assist Ukraine with lethal weaponry in the present situation, the US is mulling a deal in which Poland would give Soviet-era aircraft to Ukraine in return for American F-16 jet fighters, according to The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

The development follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's plea to Congress for help in securing additional lethal equipment, including Russian-made jet aircraft.

According to the journal, Russian-made combat planes are in the hands of NATO member nations in Eastern Europe and might be transferred to Ukraine. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, proposed that the US assist with the aircraft handover.

In his statement, Durbin said, “We must eliminate every obstacle to providing every measure of support to Ukraine to include finding a way for the United States to compensate our Eastern European partners who wish to donate their Soviet-style aircraft to Ukraine."

However, the number of Soviet-era planes in Poland is unknown. According to sources, there are a number of "challenging practical questions," including transporting the planes to Ukraine. They allegedly argued that whether or not to deliver Soviet-era jets is a "sovereign decision" for Poland.

“We are working with the Poles on this issue and consulting with the rest of our NATO allies,” according to Durbin.

Additionally, Kiev made an admission that establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine during the ongoing Russian military operation could potentially lead to a direct war between the Russian Federation and NATO, but it is still reiterating the plea for the action.

Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, in response to requests from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for assistance in combating Ukrainian troops' aggression. The special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and the civilian population is not at risk. Moscow has stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine.