Zelensky blasts Biden administration for rejecting Poland's jet transfer proposal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the Biden administration on Wednesday for rejecting Poland’s offer to deliver 28 jets to the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany for Ukraine’s use against Russia’s invading forces, claiming Washington’s refusal to facilitate the transfer puts human lives at risk.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that plans for Poland to send a fighter jets to Ukraine had received "the green light" from Washington and that the Biden administration would work to backfill those needs.

“We're talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to backfill their needs if in fact they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians,” the secretary said on CBS's "Face the Nation." 

Following Blinken’s signal, the Polish government released a statement on Tuesday announcing that it was prepared to transfer its 28 MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. with the understanding that the Pentagon could hand them over to Kyiv, a move that U.S. officials say did not come up when Blinken met with Polish officials in Warsaw, the Independent reported.

The statement also cited Poland’s request that Washington “provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities” and appealed for other Eastern European nations with MiG-29 fighters to also donate their planes to the Ukrainian cause.

But Washington appears to have backtracked on Tuesday and Pentagon spokesman John Kirby dismissed Warsaw’s proposal, showing a rare instance of disunity within NATO and infuriating Zelensky who has said NATO is playing diplomatic “ping pong.”

“The prospect of fighter jets “at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America” departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance,” Kirby said on Twitter.  

“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.”

On Wednesday, Zelensky fired back against the charge that Poland’s offer was unfounded and reminded his Western allies that Putin’s invading forces have routinely used missiles, aircraft and helicopters in its assault on Ukraine and its civilian population.

“We are grateful to Poland for the alternative - for its readiness to provide Ukraine with combat aircraft,” he said. “The problem is in logistics. In fact, it is a technical issue. It must be solved! Immediately.”

“And that's what they say in Washington. We also read this,” he said. “So when will the decision be made? 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.”