The White House defended its decisions regarding which weapons to send or withhold from Ukraine as it fights off an invasion from Vladimir Putin‘s forces.
The United States has approved anti-tank Javelin missiles and anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, while deciding against providing MiG-29s and other aircraft. Press secretary Jen Psaki was pressed about the distinction during Friday’s press briefing.
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“What we’re sending to Ukraine is security assistance, all of it, and weapons that they are effectively using to defend their country against Russian aggression,” Psaki said. “That is how all of this material would be categorized.”
Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich asked if MiG-29s could also be considered defensive.
“These are all assessments made by our Defense Department,” said Psaki. “But I would tell you that, as it relates to the transfer of fighter planes from the United States based in Germany into contested Ukrainian airspace, where our military and intelligence community determine the benefits provided to Ukraine’s defense are low and the risks of escalation are high, that’s how we assess that.”
The decisions are one of many areas where President Joe Biden and the U.S. are trying to thread a needle by assisting Ukraine without directly involving the U.S. military or escalating the conflict.
Last week, the U.S. approved a shipment of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as part of a $350 million military aid package, the Military Times reported. The shoulder-fired weapon has over a 2-mile range and was previously used by Afghan guerrillas to fight Russian troops during the Cold War.
Germany and the Baltic states also announced they would send Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Germany pledged in February to send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles.
But the Pentagon balked at plans to provide MiGs to Ukraine, saying the plan was not tenable.
Heinrich pressed Psaki on the issue, asking if the distinction between missiles and planes amounted to semantics or splitting hairs.
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“We’ve outlined pretty clearly why we’ve made the decision not to do that,” Psaki responded regarding the MiGs, “including the fact that [Ukraine] has multiple squadrons of planes that they can utilize and the fact that, most importantly, the types of assistance that we’ve been providing … is what is effective in fighting this war on the ground.”
