A troubled U.S. plan to send Soviet-era fighter jets via a transit in Poland to Ukraine is still being debated in the Biden administration, NBC reported Tuesday, just days after the possibility was flatly rejected as “fake news” by the Polish government.
The outlet cited “logistical snags” as working against the proposal, even though Western powers have denied 70 fighter jets were being provided to Ukraine by E.U. member-states, as Breitbart News reported.
“This is Poland’s sovereign decision to make. We have in no way opposed Poland transferring planes to Ukraine,” Psaki told reporters, according to NBC.
“There are a number of challenging practical questions, including how the planes would actually be transferred from Poland to Ukraine, right? So, are they going to fly? Where will they depart from? Where will they land? Those are all very important questions here,” she said, refusing to dismiss the transfer of planes as an outright fantasy.
Critics have pointed out Russia could see supplying military aircraft as direct involvement in the conflict, a point backed by NATO and reinforced by Poland.
“We are not sending any jets to Ukraine because that would open a military interference in the Ukrainian conflict,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a press conference last week with Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO.
“We are not joining that conflict,” the president added. “NATO is not a party to that conflict.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also flagged that supplying fighter jets would constitute direct involvement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said the U.S. was working with Poland on the issue but declined to discuss timing or deliver any firm outline that progressed the issue.
Three congressional aides said there is strong bipartisan support for helping Ukraine secure more fighter jets from Poland and some impatience with the Biden administration over the issue.
Despite all the talk of acting on the plan, it remains as much a fantasy today as when it was first tentatively floated.
Military analysts maintain other military equipment from Eastern European countries, specifically surface-to-air missiles and radar, could be of more immediate use as Ukraine fights back against Russia’s invasion.