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The Pentagon on Tuesday rejected Poland's proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. air base in Germany amid the intensifying Russian war in Ukraine.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby released a statement Tuesday evening calling the proposal untenable.
Poland proposed a plan Tuesday to transfer the jets to the Ramstein Air Base to then go to Ukraine to help their fight against Russia.
"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.
"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," he added.
Poland's plan came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with the U.S. to transfer the MiG-29 jets to the country on Saturday.
In Poland's statement Tuesday, it called on other NATO allies with those types of jets, which Ukrainian soldiers are trained to use, to transfer them to Ukraine.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said the offer by Poland was not "preconsulted" with the U.S.
The Poles were too precious too far here. If you want to help Ukraine then do it, the UAF pilots could have traveled overland to Poland where the freshly re-painted MiG-29s would be ready for them to fly to Ukraine. No media press releases or fanfare, just take off and fly to Ukraine. Just the same as with the thousands of MANPADS, MANPATS and small arms crossing the Polish border every hour. Instead Poland wanted to US to be seen to be involved as some sort of shell game stunt, and then made a big public show of it, without apparently first checking with the US.Pentagon: Polish proposal to send MiG fighters to US air base not ‘tenable’
The Pentagon on Tuesday rejected Poland’s proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. air base in Germany amid the intensifying Russian war in Ukraine.Pentagon press secretary John Kirby rel…thehill.com
This is infuriating.
The Poles were too precious too far here. If you want to help Ukraine then do it, the UAF pilots could have traveled overland to Poland where the freshly re-painted MiG-29s would be ready for them to fly to Ukraine. No media press releases or fanfare, just take off and fly to Ukraine. Just the same as with the thousands of MANPADS, MANPATS and small arms crossing the Polish border every hour. Instead Poland wanted to US to be seen to be involved as some sort of shell game stunt, and then made a big public show of it, without apparently first checking with the US. This is all on Poland.
Pentagon: Polish proposal to send MiG fighters to US air base not ‘tenable’
The Pentagon on Tuesday rejected Poland’s proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. air base in Germany amid the intensifying Russian war in Ukraine.Pentagon press secretary John Kirby rel…thehill.com
This is infuriating.
Just put the damn planes in a parking lot unescured. If Ukrainian tourists just happen to acquire them as souvenirs of their time visiting beautiful Poland then so be it.
Aircraft, like ships, must bear the flag of the owning nation.That just confuses me. How is it ok to send missles, rockets, ammo and other lethal military hardware but not ok to send aircraft?
Aircraft, like ships, must bear the flag of the owning nation.
If a polish flag aircraft landed in Ukraine and then conducted operations, that's an act of war.
If a aircraft is painted with the Ukrainian flag in Poland and flown to Ukraine, that too ends Polish neutrality.
The only possible way around it would be to land in a third party nation (Moldova forex) and have them paint the aircraft in primer & drain all fuel & empty all weapons before the Ukrainians push or pull the aircraft across the border. This would be like what the US did at the Canadian border from 1939 to 1941.
While more suited for this situation IMO, it's still a matter of operational training if the aircraft can even be supported logistically. Because the UAF was already operating MiG-25s the transfer would be almost seamlessWhy not also "donate" your ground-attack optimized Sukhoi Su-17s? The US will make sure you're not left defenceless.
That just confuses me. How is it ok to send missles, rockets, ammo and other lethal military hardware but not ok to send aircraft?
The operator of the Chernobyl nuclear plant announced on Wednesday that Russian forces disconnected the facility's power grid.
Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian state-owned grid Chernobyl plant, wrote in a Telegram post that there is "no possibility" of restoring the lines because of Russia's military action in the country.
"Because of military actions of Russian occupiers the nuclear power plant in Chornobyl was fully disconnected from the power grid. The nuclear station has no power supply," Ukenergo wrote.
"The military actions are in progress, so there is no possibility to restore the lines," the company added.
Russian forces took control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant last month amid its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow also seized the Zaporizhzhia power plant.
While it is now closed, the Chernobyl plant requires electricity for cooling, ventilation and fire extinguishing systems, according to The Washington Post.
Ukenergo wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that emergency diesel generators on site to supply power to critical systems have been turned on, though the fuel is only enough for 48 hours.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, wrote in a statement on Tuesday that "remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost."
"The Agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon," the organization added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is now calling for a cease-fire from Russia to allow repair units to rectify issues at the plant.
Ukraine says Russian forces disconnected Chernobyl plant from power grid
The operator of the Chernobyl nuclear plant announced on Wednesday that Russian forces disconnected the facility’s power grid.Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian state-owned grid operator, wrote in a Te…thehill.com
We all saw what happened at Fukushima when those plants lost power to their cooling systems.
Does this mean these plants aren't designed with a "fail safe" mode where it automatically switches to a low power setting making just enough power to handle its own operating needs? Unbelievable!! Downright criminal!!Well thats not good. Won't it overheat?
Does this mean these plants aren't designed with a "fail safe" mode where it automatically switches to a low power setting making just enough power to handle its own operating needs? Unbelievable!! Downright criminal!!