Poland says it’s ready to send fighter jets to Ukraine in coordination with NATO

Poland said on Wednesday that it wants to work with NATO countries to send fighter jets to Ukraine one day after the U.S. rejected Poland’s proposal.

“Such a serious decision as supplying planes must be unanimous and unequivocally made by the whole North Atlantic alliance,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference, Reuters reported.

On Tuesday, Poland proposed transferring its MiG-29 jets to U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany so the fighters could be sent to Ukraine. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with Western countries to supply the jets to help in his nation’s fight against Russia. 

The Polish proposal, which was not discussed with the U.S. before becoming public, was rejected by Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby later Tuesday.

“It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it. We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one,” Kirby said. 

Poland also called on other nations to transfer the jets to the U.S. base to go to Ukraine.

“We did not agree to supply planes by ourselves, because it must be the decision of the whole of NATO,” Morawiecki said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Russia condemned Poland’s proposal, saying it could create a hostile situation between the countries.

“It cannot be that Poland has – as the only NATO country – to take the risk, and the other countries would not have to compensate or share it with us in any way,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said, Reuters noted.