The United States is exploring how it might facilitate supplying Ukraine with fighter jets from NATO nations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, suggesting a step-up in western military aid to Kyiv as it faces Russia’s deepening invasion.
“We are looking actively now at the question of airplanes that Poland may provide to Ukraine and looking at how we might be able to backfill should Poland choose to supply those planes,” he told reporters during a visit to Chisinau, Moldova.
Blinken’s remarks will be welcomed in Kyiv, where Ukrainian leaders have appealed to the West for additional military aid as they face a punishing assault by Russian forces.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged U.S. lawmakers in a video call on Saturday to help ensure his country gets additional air power to bolster its meager air force and stave off Russia’s attempt to capture major cities.