The US Is Finally Helping Ukraine's Air Force

[Celerity]

The Pentagon previously said it wouldn't provide this kind of aid to Ukraine.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3ndbj/us-ukraine-air-force-help



The Pentagon is budging on its previous pledge to not help provide desperately needed aerial power to Ukraine’s air force. In recent days, two senior Pentagon officials told media that an element of the international arms transfer efforts to Ukraine includes spare parts for the country’s damaged fighter planes. As a result, Ukraine was able to put 20 of its planes back in the skies while the Russian military has amassed a large force in Donbas in its pursuit of taking a chunk of the strategically vital east.

“I mean, they right now have more fixed-wing fighter aircraft than they did two weeks ago,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Tuesday, explaining that the spare parts have come from “other nations” and not directly from the U.S. “And that's not by accident; that's because other nations who have experience with those kinds of aircraft have been able to help them get—get more aircraft up—up and running.”

Where the new aircraft parts are coming from is a mystery. The Pentagon only confirmed they came from Europe, while the Polish Ministry of Defense, the closest ally to Ukraine and with similar Soviet-era aircraft in its arsenal, would not respond to VICE News’ requests on whether it was sending Kyiv new aircraft parts.

Since the war began, the Biden administration has walked a diplomatic tightrope, mostly limiting its weapons supplies to Ukraine to small arms in an attempt not to trigger the Kremlin into escalatory actions against a nearby NATO nation. Though it has already sent billions of dollars’ worth of security assistance—like the decisive Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger anti-aircraft systems Ukraine has used to devastating effect against Russian forces—only recently has the U.S. begun heavy-weapons transfers, including howitzer artillery systems (and trainers for them), helicopters, and 121 “tactical” drones capable of deploying munitions.

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