US has no objections to sending aircraft to Ukraine - Kiev
Apparently, sending aircraft will not start a world war anymore?
-
Two Polish Air Force Russian made Mig 29's fly above and below two Polish Air Force U.S. made F-16 fighter jets during the Air Show in Radom, Poland, on Aug. 27, 2011 (AP)
On Saturday, Ukraine said that Washington does not object to the transfer of warplanes to Kiev to fight Russia. This comes after earlier this month, the Pentagon rejected an offer from Poland to send aircraft to Kiev.
Washington officials "have no objections to the transfer of aircraft. As far as we can conclude, the ball is now on the Polish side. We will look further into this matter in our conversations with Polish colleagues", Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AFP.
Kuleba's comments came after a meeting in Poland with Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Biden, who is on a visit to Poland.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon rejected sending fighter jets from Poland to Kiev to counter Russian forces, despite Zelensky's constant pressure for military assistance from NATO.
No no-fly zone?
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for the US Congress's aid in supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, saying that if NATO wouldn't establish a no-fly zone, then his country would require jets to use them against Russia.
Read more: Poland won't send fighter jets to Ukraine or allow use of airports
The jets in question are likely Soviet-era MiG-29s, which Poland possesses, and Ukrainian pilots are capable of operating. The plan Zelensky is alluding to is Poland supplying Ukraine with MiG-29s while the US would in turn supply Poland with F-16s.
Biden vetoes
US President Joe Biden vetoed Warsaw's proposal to send Polish MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, arguing that it was to avoid provoking Russia into a confrontation with NATO, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
According to the US media outlet, Biden personally vetoed the proposal, and the decision came directly from him.
Despite not allowing Warsaw to provide Kiev with arms so as not to provoke Moscow, Washington had supplied weapons to Ukraine.
The West, mainly the US, had supplied its eastern European ally with a wide array of arms, including Javelin and NLAW anti-tank weapons, Stingers, and ammunition for regular arms.
Earlier on Friday, Biden said the United States would defend the territory of the NATO member states against an attack from Russia, but such action could lead to World War III.
The last time Biden mentioned WWIII was when he was justifying his country's sanctions against Russia. "You have two options: start a third World War, go to war with Russia physically. Or two, make sure that a country that acts so contrary to international law ends up paying the price," he said during an interview.
