Alternate airfield: why the United States advocated the supply of MiG aircraft and Western fighters to Ukraine

Major General David Baldwin, commander of the California National Guard, called on the US and Western authorities to consider supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, including American-made ones, as soon as possible.

He stated this in a commentary to Politico.

“MiGs (Soviet-made.

) are the best solution at the moment to support the Ukrainians, but American or Western fighters are options that should be considered as soon as possible,” Baldwin said.

According to him, the transfer of MiGs to Kyiv would be more expedient, since Ukrainian pilots have already been trained in handling them.

“As for their use of MiGs, there is a lot of good here, as they are already trained in this regard.

But if they use Western-style aircraft, then we are talking about discussing what aircraft could be available for this in terms of their number, type and potential, ”said the American general.

Earlier, Baldwin told reporters that representatives of the California National Guard helped Kyiv adjust requests to the Pentagon for the supply of various types of weapons systems to the Ukrainian side, and also provided Ukraine with information about those means "that could be available at a more tactical level."

However, as Lt. Col. Brandon Hill, spokesman for the California National Guard, emphasized when answering questions from Politico after the news conference, the final decision on providing Kyiv with US-made fighters will be made by the White House and the Pentagon.

“However, he (Hill.

) noted that even before the start of the conflict, there was always an intention to make sure that Ukraine came to “interoperability with NATO”, including so that it would have the opportunity to use Western fighters, ”writes Politico.

Recall that back in March, during a briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the United States does not support the transfer of "additional fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force at the moment."

• Pentagon

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• © Westend61

“And so we don’t want them (MiG fighters. -

) to be under our control,” Kirby said.

- According to the intelligence community, the transfer of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine may be mistakenly perceived as an escalation step.

And it could cause a significant reaction from Russia, which could increase the likelihood of a military escalation with NATO.”

As a Pentagon official stressed at the time, the United States believes that there are alternative options “that are much better suited to support the Ukrainian military in their fight against Russia.”

In the context of arms deliveries 

Recall that under the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, Washington allocated to Kyiv a total military assistance of about $5.3 billion. This was reported on June 1 by the Pentagon press service.

At the same time, according to the US Defense Department, only since the beginning of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the United States has provided defense assistance to Kyiv in the amount of about $4.6 billion.

The latest package of military assistance in the amount of $700 million, the allocation of which was announced on June 1 by the head of the White House, involves the transfer to the Ukrainian authorities of HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) with ammunition for use, as Biden specified, allegedly within the “battlefield”, thousands of anti-tank Javelin missile systems, 15 combat vehicles, a counter-battery and air surveillance radar, 6,000 anti-tank weapons, and four Mi-17 helicopters.

Meanwhile, Russia demanded that the United States explain its decision to transfer four Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine, which Moscow had previously supplied to Washington for use only by the Armed Forces of Afghanistan.

This is stated in the comments of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, published on June 3 on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“This understanding was legally enshrined in the relevant contract and end user certificate, which states in black and white that the helicopters in question should be delivered to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for its armed forces.

Only this way, and nothing else.

However, these legal restrictions, as we see, are not an obstacle for Washington in its unbridled desire to pump weapons to Kyiv, ”Zakharova emphasized.

She called the decision of the American authorities "another egregious fact" of the violation by the American side of its international obligations and the "policy of double standards."

“Washington fulfills only the agreements that are convenient for it at this particular moment.

Not to mention the fact that this obvious violation of international law ultimately contributes to prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, ”said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

At the same time, as Zakharova noted, Washington, in an ostentatious manner declaring its disinterest in the escalation between Russia and NATO, “irresponsibly supplies” long-range missile and artillery systems to Ukraine.

• American weapons in Ukraine

• AP

• © Efrem Lukatsky

“Washington justifies this by allegedly receiving “guarantees” from Kyiv that the use of the supplied military assistance will not go beyond the borders of Ukraine.

Well, what are the assurances of Kyiv worth, we know very well and remember from the history of the “observance” of the Minsk agreements by the Ukrainian side, ”she stressed.

"Looks very realistic"

According to retired Colonel Viktor Baranets, the US Major General's statement calling for fighter jets to be sent to Kyiv should be viewed in the light of Washington's overall strategy for arms supplies to Ukraine.

The White House may indeed return to the idea of ​​providing Kyiv with fighter jets, given the nature of military assistance to the Ukrainian side, including the supply of long-range missile and artillery systems, the expert believes.

“The Pentagon decided to first pump up the Ukrainian army with MLRS, heavy weapons, then train the pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and transfer fighter jets to Ukraine.

And Baldwin decided to hurry the White House in making such a decision.

Why is Washington in no hurry?

Because, on the one hand, they are afraid, and on the other hand, if the pilots are not well trained to fly Western fighters, then the Russian air defense systems will immediately destroy them, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, as Baranets clarified, the United States is not in vain afraid to organize the supply of American and Western-made aircraft, as well as the MiG-29 for Ukraine, since such a step could really lead to an escalation with the North Atlantic Alliance.

As for the transfer of Mi-17 helicopters to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were intended for the Afghan army, Washington is not interested in compliance with international law in this situation, “it is not going to follow them, which once again demonstrates the hypocrisy of the American authorities,” said Baranets.

In turn, Aleksey Podberyozkin, director of the MGIMO Center for Military-Political Studies, noted in an interview with RT that if Russia knew that the United States would violate international norms and allow the Armed Forces to use the Mi-17 against the Russian Federation, Moscow, of course, would not transfer them Washington.

“Mi-17s were once supplied by the United States with a very specific purpose - to be used in Afghanistan.

However, these helicopters do not have a serious military potential, so the United States does not mind giving them to Kyiv, ”the analyst said.

At the same time, Podberyozkin noted that, given the growth in US arms supplies to Kyiv, the plan of the American major general to provide Ukraine with MiG aircraft, as well as American-made fighters, "looks quite realistic."

• MiG aircraft

• RIA News

• © Evgeny Odinokov

“We should not forget that, according to media reports, spare parts for the MiG-29 are already being supplied to Ukraine from Eastern Europe.

These planes of the country - former members of the Warsaw Pact received from the USSR.

And it would really be easier for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use the MiG-29, since these are aircraft known to them, which cannot be said about American or Western fighters, ”said Podberyozkin.

However, according to him, even if a number of MiG-29 aircraft or Western fighters are handed over to Ukraine, this will not be able to significantly affect the course of the special operation in Ukraine.

“Kyiv has lost air superiority, and this has an extremely strong effect on the position of the Ukrainian armed forces.

In addition, there are very few MiG aircraft left in Eastern Europe.

And the possible delivery of Western fighters will be interrupted by the strikes of high-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

In addition, we should not forget that there are already very few professional pilots left in Ukraine, ”concluded Podberyozkin.