Ukraine: Multiple news outlets reported Saturday that US officials told them of the possible deal, in which Poland would send Soviet-era aircraft to Ukraine in return for American F-16 fighter jets.
Reports show that the US is working on a deal with Poland to supply Soviet-era warplanes to strengthen Ukraine against Russia.
The US and Poland are exploring a deal in which they would supply up to 12 F16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The White House has also allegedly said they will consult other NATO allies, including the United Kingdom and Spain, according to reports published by the Wall Street Journal and NBC.
After a meeting with Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, the Ukrainian president reached out to the U.S. government requesting fighter jets. According to reports, Zelensky requested an aid package on Wednesday—including 20 F-16s of unspecified vintage and two squadrons of attack helicopters.—to replace outdated Soviet jets – which would cost anywhere between $7 and $10 billion dollars—referred to by US officials as “Soviet crap.”
Russian-made planes remain the workhorse of the Ukrainian Air Force, with Kyiv urging Western countries to provide powerful military assistance, including warplanes. President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for Eastern European neighbors to provide such planes and ask permission for their pilots to fly them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who spoke with two senators. “The urgency of the United States and its allies to support freedom for the people of Ukraine has never been greater,\” Senator Rob Portman said after he and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin spoke with Zelensky.
U.S. Senator Rob Portman, who earlier said he planned to discuss the possibility of supplying ex-Soviet aircraft to Ukraine with a visiting delegation led by Poland’s Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz on Tuesday, has called for cuts in both cost and time in supplying assistance to Ukraine.
Several NATO members are ready to replace their Soviet era aircraft, such as the MiG-29 and Su-25, with more advanced fighters such as the U.S. made F-16. Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia are a couple of the countries that are willing to make the replacements says NATO’s Portman in a statement.
This latest investment is the most significant in US history to date, with the US sending $350 million of military equipment such as anti-tank missiles and aviation security equipment to Ukraine. The shipments are the largest such package in US history
