Ukraine is pushing its Western allies to supply it with fighter jets, a week after it won promises of sophisticated modern tanks to help it defeat Russian invasion forces after nearly a year of fighting.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov is scheduled to fly to Paris today (Tuesday), where discussions on the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine are expected to be on the agenda.
After months of haggling, Ukrainian authorities last week convinced Western allies to send the tanks. This decision was made despite the hesitation and caution of some NATO members, including the United States and Germany.
There was no indication that a decision on fighter jets for Ukraine might come soon, and there is no sign that Western countries have changed their previous position on the issue. A number of Western leaders expressed concern that the move could escalate the conflict that has lasted for almost a year and draw the parties deeper into the war.
The British government, which has been one of Kyiv’s main diplomatic backers and military suppliers, said sending its fighter jets was “impractical”. Prime Minister Rishi Sonk’s spokesman, Max Blaine, said that “Britain’s Typhoon and F-35 aircraft are highly sophisticated and it takes months to learn how to fly them. Given that, we believe it is impractical to send these aircraft to Ukraine,” Blaine added, if Because he didn’t say that Britain is opposed to other countries sending it planes.
When US President Joe Biden was asked yesterday (Monday) by a reporter if his administration was considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, he replied “No”.
Officials in Kiev have repeatedly called on allies to send planes, saying they are essential to challenge Russia’s air superiority and ensure the success of future counterattacks that could include tanks recently promised by Western nations. But Ukraine’s allies not only refused to send it planes, but also ruled out the possibility that they would supply Kiev with long-range missiles capable of hitting Russian territory, signaling a similarly cautious stance toward fighter jets.
When asked on Tuesday about the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin’s position that “NATO was directly involved in a hybrid war against Russia.” He added after talks in Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri that the Russian military “will take any the necessary measures to prevent the fulfillment of the West’s plans”.
According to him, Shukri conveyed a message from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about Ukraine, who repeated the previous calls from Washington to Russia to withdraw from the attack. Lavrov said that “Russia is ready to hear any serious proposal – I want to emphasize this word – aimed at a comprehensive settlement of the current situation.”
The escalation of relations between Russia and NATO
Both Ukraine and Russia are believed to be building up their arsenals for an expected attack in the coming months. The war was largely a stalemate on the battlefield during the winter.
As in previous debates about how to help Ukraine, Poland is the leading supporter of the EU in providing military aid. Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic states on NATO’s eastern side feel particularly threatened by Russia.
When asked about Lithuania’s support of fighter jets and long-range missiles to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the comments “reflected an aggressive attitude of the Baltic states and Poland, which are ready to do anything to provoke further escalation without thinking about the consequences.” The European agenda does not play a balancing role to offset such extreme tendencies,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France does not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he set a number of conditions before taking such a significant step. The conditions, according to him, include that they will not lead to an escalation in tensions, the use of the aircraft “to touch Russian soil”, or that they will cause the weakening of “the capabilities of the French military”. Macron added that Ukraine must also formally request the planes, which could happen when Reznikov sat down for talks in Paris.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz appeared to balk at the prospect of supplying fighter jets, suggesting on Sunday that the reason for the entire debate may have to do with “domestic political motivations” in some countries. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, said yesterday that “there is no taboo” in efforts to help Ukraine, but added that sending planes “would be a very big step”. The president of NATO member Croatia criticized Western countries for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons. President Zoran Milanovic argued that those arms shipments would only prolong the war.
Earlier in the conflict, discussions focused on the possibility of supplying Kiev with Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets, which Ukrainian pilots are familiar with. In March, the Pentagon rejected Poland’s offer to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to Kiev via a US base in Germany, citing a high risk of escalation between Russia and NATO.
Ukrainian wisdom
Western fighter jets would give Ukraine a significant boost, but dealing with Russia’s formidable air force would still be a major challenge.
Ukraine inherited a significant fleet of Soviet-made combat aircraft, including Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets and Su-25 ground attack aircraft. The transition to Western aircraft will require the Ukrainian crews to undergo long training and will also raise logistical challenges related to their maintenance and repair.
Russia systematically attacked Ukrainian air bases and air defense batteries in the opening stages of the war, but Ukraine acted wisely by moving its fighter jets from the bases and hiding its air defense assets, leading to a Russian failure to achieve full air control.
After suffering heavy losses at the beginning of the conflict, the Russian Air Force avoided going deep into Ukraine’s airspace and focused mainly on close support missions along the front line. The Ukrainian Air Force faced similar challenges, trying to save its remaining fighter jets from being hit by Russian fighter jets and air defense systems.