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Poland could provide Ukraine with MiG-29 fighter jets within four to six weeks if a coalition of allies signs off on the plan, Prime Minister Mateusz said Tuesday.
Morawiecki said last week Poland was prepared to provide Soviet-designed MiG-29 jets to Ukraine as part of a coalition of countries. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies to provide the jets, and Morawiecki has been a supporter of the plan. The U.S. and other Western nations have balked, suggesting such a move would ramp up the war.
The Polish military has about 28 of the planes, but the prime minister did not say how many jets he would be willing to commit to Ukraine. Slovakia has said it is considering transferring 10 of its 11 MiG-29 jets; the last one will go to a museum.
Ukrainian pilots are already flying MiG-29 fighters, so very little or no additional training would be needed.
‘THIS IS INHUMANE’:Poland, Slovakia ready to send fighter jets to Kyiv. Updates
Developments:
►A Russian missile struck an apartment building in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, killing at least one person and wounded nine others in one of Ukraine’s major city strongholds in its Donetsk region.
►Russia’s soccer team, barred from European and FIFA competitions, has been invited to participate in the inaugural Central Asian Football Association Championships in June. Afghanistan, Iran and former Soviet republics Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
MERCENARY RECRUITING:Russia’s Wagner Group seeking recruits in high schools; Moscow wants to renew grain deal for shorter term: Live Ukraine updates
DeSantis dismisses war as ‘territorial dispute’ between Ukraine and Russia
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, expected to join the race for the GOP presidential nomination, told Fox News Host Tucker Carlson that aiding Ukraine is not a vital interest for the United States.
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence and checking the economic, cultural and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis wrote in response to a Fox News questionnaire shared by Carlson on Twitter.
President Joe Biden has pledged to support Ukraine “as long as it takes” – a position DeSantis criticized for lacking defined objectives.
Russia toughens punishment for discrediting war leaders
Russia’s parliament ratified amendments to the Russian Criminal Code providing harsher punishments for “discrediting participants” of the war. Punishment can include up to 15 years in prison, including five years of force labor or seven for repeated violations that put Russians in danger. Fines can reach almost $70,000.
The Institute for the Study of War says the Kremlin could use the amendments to promote self-censorship among military bloggers, especially those whose venting have “exceeded the Kremlin’s tolerance for open criticism.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
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