US President Joe Biden ‘killed the Polish jet deal’ despite desperate pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and pressure from both Democrats and Republicans.
The agreement ended when Poland suggested that the jets would be given to the US to deliver to Ukraine, and the US responded that it was Poland’s responsibility.
US defense officials then killed the deal, saying they wouldn’t transfer the warplanes themselves or back up Poland during the process.
Describing the call between Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and his Polish counterpart, press secretary John Kirby told reporters: We do not support the transfer of the fighters to the Ukrainian air force at this time and have no desire to see them in our custody either.”
He also said that the Pentagon had assessed the jets would escalate the possibility of drawing NATO into direct conflict without improving Ukraine’s defense posture.
Mr. Zelensky spoke to US lawmakers over the weekend and asked for help in facilitating the transfer of jets to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader has accused the US and Poland of playing games with people’s lives, saying: “Listen, we have a war! We do not have time for all these signals. This is not ping pong! This is about human lives! We ask once again: solve it faster.
“Do not shift the responsibility. Send us planes.”
Mr. Zelensky reportedly spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and begged her for jets. However, skeptics pushed back on the idea and the US President himself agreed, Politico reported.
An official told Politico: “POTUS will do what the military advises here and the advice now is not to do this and instead send the Ukrainian government more things they can make good use of.”
Ukraine has “many planes they already don’t fly much because of Russian air defense,” the official said, adding that it’s “not clear what sending more planes achieves.”
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