US senator backs transfer of Russian-made fighter jets from NATO countries to Ukraine Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) (Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA/TNS)
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A U.S. senator is pushing for the transfer of fighter aircraft to Ukraine from Poland and other NATO and Eastern European countries.
Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey) wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on March 7 calling for Washington to commit to replace any donated jets with upgraded Western aircraft.
“I will support efforts in the Senate to implement measures to compensate our allies that provide their aircraft for Ukraine’s defense,” Menendez wrote.
Menendez, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote the letter after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded for European countries to provide Russian-made planes that Ukrainian pilots know how to fly.
The State Department is working with Poland and consulting with other NATO allies, a spokesperson said.
“This is Poland’s sovereign decision to make. We have in no way opposed Poland transferring planes to Ukraine,” the spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
Washington was considering how it could resupply aircraft to Poland, if Warsaw decided to send its Russian-made warplanes to Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on March 6.
Many lawmakers have appealed for Washington to do all it can to get aircraft to Ukraine, including letting countries that send Russian-made MiGs to quickly obtain U.S.-made F-16s to replace them.
The White House said it did not oppose planes being sent to Ukraine but saw logistical challenges to it.
“It is not as easy as just moving planes around,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
