“Conversations with more than half a dozen Western military officials and diplomats confirm an internal debate about supplying Ukraine with jet fighters is already underway”, the article says.
According to the outlet, Ukrainian officials, supported by Baltic countries, initiated the discussion of the issue.
“The next natural step (after tanks – Radio Poland) would be fighters”, Politico quoted a European official as saying.
The potential transfer of military aircraft to Ukraine is likely to cause more debate than tanks. European governments no longer sees the idea as a failure, but escalation fears remain high, Politico reported.
According to one of the diplomats quoted in the article, the United States told Kyiv authorities that the delivery of aircraft “is not possible at the moment”.
“There’s a red line there — but last summer we had a red line on the HIMARS, and that moved. Then it was battle tanks, and that’s moving”, he added.
Some officials believe the discussions will focus more on developing a contingency plan if the planes are urgently needed at some point.
However, a possible future delivery of fighters could turn into a “logistical nightmare” for Ukraine’s armed forces, since F-15 and F-16 fighters require long, high-quality runways which are not available in Ukraine, according to Politico.
(jh)
Source: Politico