Ukraine yesterday won the support of the Baltic states and Poland in a bid to acquire Western fighter jets, but there are no signs that major countries such as the United States and Britain have changed their stance on not wanting to send bombers to Kiev after nearly a year of war.
"Ukraine needs fighter planes... missiles, tanks. We have to act," said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu in the Latvian capital Riga at a press conference with Baltic and Polish colleagues.
These countries, which are located on the eastern edge of NATO, feel particularly threatened by Russia and are the biggest proponents of sending military aid to Kiev, the Associated Press agency reminds.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov spoke with his French colleague, after which he said that they did not talk specifically about fighter planes, but about aviation "platforms" to help the Ukrainian ground-air defense.
"I don't know how quick the Western allies' response will be" to Kiev's requests for fighter jets, Reznikov said. "I am optimistic and I think it will be as soon as possible".
He also cited as an example the weapons that Ukraine was looking for last year, starting with the "stinger", and pointed out that the first answer was always: "impossible". But over time, he said, "it became possible".
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, speaking alongside Reznikov, said that sending bombers to Ukraine "is not a taboo subject". He said, as reported by Reuters, that France and Ukraine had discussed training Ukrainian pilots to fly French fighter jets, but that the decision had not yet been made. He also confirmed that France is sending 12 more "Caesar" cannons to Ukraine next week.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France does not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he presented several conditions before taking such a step, including those that it must not lead to an escalation of the conflict and that the planes "must not touch Russian soil" and that the result of the deployment must not be a "weakened capacity of the French army".
Reznikov's visit to France came Sunday after Western countries promised to send sophisticated modern tanks to Kiev. The AP recalls that several Western leaders have expressed concern that sending fighter jets would escalate the conflict and drag them deeper into the war. Such aircraft would be a significant boost for Ukraine, but countering Russia's large air force would still be a challenge.
The Ukrainian Minister of Defense said that the first response to Kiev's previous requests for weapons, starting with the "stinger", was always: "impossible". But over time, he said, "it became possible".
The British government, which is among Kiev's staunchest diplomatic allies, announced that sending fighter jets "is not practical." The spokesman of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Max Blaine, said that "the British Typhoon and F-35 bombers are extremely sophisticated and it takes months for the pilots to learn to fly them." "Having that in mind, it is not practical to send such planes to Ukraine," he said yesterday, although he did not indicate that Britain is opposed to other countries sending planes.
When asked on Monday whether his administration is considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said no.
Kiev officials have repeatedly called on allies to send the planes, arguing that they are essential to counter Russian air superiority and to ensure the success of a future counteroffensive that Western battle tanks may enable.
The West also rejected the possibility of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine that could hit Russian territory, citing possible escalation as the reason.
After several months, Ukrainian authorities last Sunday managed to convince Western allies to send tanks. That decision came despite the hesitation and caution of some NATO members, including the United States and Germany.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz backed down when the possibility of sending fighter jets to Ukraine was mentioned, and on Sunday he said that the whole discussion might be driven by "internal political motives" in certain countries.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday that "there is no taboo" in efforts to help Ukraine, but added that sending the plane would be "a very big step".
When asked about the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday repeated the Kremlin's position that "NATO has long been directly involved in a hybrid war against Russia."
After the conversation in Moscow with the Egyptian head of diplomacy, Sameh Shoukry, he said that the Russian army "will take all necessary measures to prevent the West from fulfilling its plans".
He said that Shoukry conveyed a message from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about Ukraine, who repeated Washington's calls for Russia to withdraw. Lavrov said that "Russia is ready to listen to any serious, and I want to emphasize that word - proposal, in order to solve the current situation".
Both Ukraine and Russia are believed to be beefing up their arsenals for an expected offensive in the coming months.
Russia announced yesterday that it captured a village about five kilometers north of Bakhmut, located on one of the main roads to that city. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the village of Blahodatne was captured with the help of aviation.
Reuters points out that Moscow has made clear, albeit gradual, progress in that area in recent weeks, capturing the mining town of Soledar.
If it were to force Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the city of 75 people, it would be Russia's first major success since it captured Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, cities of the same size, in July.
When asked about Lithuania's call for the West to send aircraft and long-range missiles to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that those comments "reflect the aggressive approach taken by the Baltic states and Poland, which are ready to do anything to provoke further escalation without thinking about the consequences." ".
"It is very sad that the leaders of major European countries who manage the European agenda do not fulfill their balancing role in order to prevent such extremist aspirations," Peskov told reporters.
Earlier this week, the president of NATO member Croatia criticized Western countries for sending battle tanks and other weapons to Ukraine. Zoran Milanović said that such deliveries of weapons only prolong the war.
AP reminds that in the earlier stages of the conflict, the possibility of sending Soviet "MIG-26" fighter planes, with which Ukrainian pilots are familiar, was considered. In March, the Pentagon rejected Poland's proposal to send its "MIGs" to Kiev via the US base in Germany, citing the risk of escalation between Russia and NATO.
Ukraine inherited a significant fleet of Soviet aircraft, including Su-27 and MIG-29 aircraft.
Switching to Western aircraft would require Ukrainian pilots to undergo extensive training and would present a logistical challenge in terms of maintenance and repair.
Russia methodically targeted Ukrainian air bases and air defenses in the early stages of the war, but Ukraine moved its aircraft and hid its air defenses, resulting in Russia failing to establish full control of the skies.
After suffering heavy casualties early in the conflict, the Russian air force has avoided penetrating deep into Ukrainian airspace and has mostly focused on supporting missions along the front line.
Ukraine's air force faced a similar challenge, trying to save its remaining planes from being shot down by Russian bombers and air defense systems.
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