Poland has fewer than 50 planes, Duda said, and sending them would be a major problem for the country. He also stressed that combat aircraft such as the F-16 are “very much in need of maintenance”, so it’s not enough to just send a few planes.
Since Poland is a member of NATO, any decision on the supply of fighter jets should be a joint decision, and not a decision of any one country, Duda added.
On January 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the participants of the eighth Ramstein with an appeal to give Ukraine F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles. On January 23, Ukrainian Defense Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the issue of transferring combat aircraft to Ukraine “moved off the ground.”
On January 23, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said that Lithuania supports the provision of Western aviation to Ukraine and believes that a system for its use should be created. The head of the Polish government, Mateusz Morawiecki, said on January 30 that Warsaw would lobby among the allies for the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as was the case with German Leopard 2 tanks.
On January 30, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he allowed the transfer of military aircraft to Ukraine by Western partners. According to the French president, “by definition, nothing is excluded.” At the same time, the President of France called the conditions for the transfer of combat aircraft to Kyiv. In particular, possible supplies should not lead to an escalation in the war. What France is transmitting “should not affect Russian territory, but protect Ukraine,” as well as “not weaken the combat capability” of the French army, Macron said.
In turn, on January 30, US President Joe Biden announced that the United States would not supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on February 9 that Poland was ready to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine, but would not be the first to do so. According to him, NATO countries should act together in this matter.
On February 9, before the EU summit in Brussels, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that negotiations on the provision of combat aircraft to Ukraine should take place behind closed doors. Ukraine has already submitted an official request to the Netherlands for the supply of F-16 fighter jets, Defense Minister Kaisa Ollongren said.
At a press conference in Brussels (Belgium) on February 9, Zelensky said that he “heard from the leaders of some states in Europe” about their readiness to provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons, “including aircraft.”
