After Russian forces attacked a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, the Biden administration announced that it would oppose the transfer of Poland-based MiG 29 fighter planes to Ukraine, calling it “high risk.”
As the Russian army’s atrocities continued, the Biden administration said that it was considering the transfer, a move that would help the Ukrainian Air Force defend citizens against aerial bombardments from Putin’s air force.
According to a Fox News report, “Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, and informed him that the United States will not support Poland’s proposal to deliver MiG-29s to the Ukrainian military.”
“The secretary also had a chance to discuss with Minister Blaszczak the proposal to send MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and, specifically, the notion of doing so by a way of transfer to U.S. custody,” said Secretary Kirby. “Secretary Austin thanked the minister for Poland’s willingness to continue to look for ways to assist Ukraine, but he stressed that we do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian air force at this time and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody either.”
“We assess that adding aircraft to the Ukrainian inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of Ukrainian Air Force relative to Russian capabilities,” Kirby said. “Therefore, we believe that the gain from transferring those MIG 29s is low.”
The Biden administration is also refusing to open up U.S. oil production but is ramping up its purchases of foreign oil.
