The United States rejected the idea of assisting Poland in transferring fighter jets to Ukraine this week.
“The intelligence community has assessed that the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine may be mistaken as escalatory and could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of a military escalation with NATO,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Wednesday. “We believe the provision of additional fighter aircraft provides little increased capabilities at high risk.”
This assessment is wrong.
For one, Russia has already escalated by striking civilian targets such as hospitals and apartment buildings in what can be considered war crimes. Not transferring the planes won’t make Russia stop the attacks. Appeasement never works, and that is no exception when dealing with Vladimir Putin.
Additionally, Ukraine needs to be able to fight in the air. Continuing to fly, Ukraine can attack Russian tank convoys and, yes, fighter jets. As Russia has been occupying a significant portion of Ukrainian airspace, Ukraine needs the planes in order to assert dominance in the air. While Stinger missiles can shoot down planes, they can only shoot so far. In contrast, planes have greater reach and more precision in shooting down Russian aircraft.
The Ukrainian resistance needs constant reinforcement. If the U.S. won’t transfer the planes, then Poland should let Ukrainian pilots come and pick them up from air bases on its soil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has called for fighter jets, was right to quote Winston Churchill in a virtual speech on Tuesday before the U.K. Parliament: “We will not give up, and we will not lose. We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.”
That courage deserves the West’s greater commitment.
Jackson Richman is a journalist in Washington, D.C. Follow him @jacksonrichman.
