Ukraine war.. Washington is considering supplying Kyiv with combat aircraft, and Poland criticizes Germany over arms exchange

The United States said on Friday that it was considering options to send fighter planes to Ukraine, but not soon, while Poland sharply criticized its neighbor Germany over its "circular exchange" of arms strategy aimed at accelerating the pace of support to Ukraine with heavy military equipment.

John Kirby, a White House spokesman for strategic issues, said Friday that the Pentagon is looking into whether it can send fighter jets to Ukraine in the future.

Kirby told reporters that the Biden administration is conducting preliminary investigations into the feasibility of providing Ukraine with aircraft, but this step is not something that can be implemented in the near term.

The US official's statement comes at a time when the Russian-Ukrainian war has entered its fifth month, and the United States announced on Friday new military aid to Ukraine worth $270 million, including four new high-precision artillery systems, "Himars".

Thus, Washington has provided Kyiv with a total of 20 units of the aforementioned missile launchers that can be carried on light armor.

The new shipment also includes 500 "Phoenix Ghost" attack marches, according to Kirby.

And HIMARS mobile guns can launch GPS-guided missiles with a range of 80 km, which allows Ukraine to reach Russian targets that were not previously within the reach of its forces, and Kirby noted that Washington will also provide 36,000 additional artillery shells.

Kyiv demands

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov had asked Western countries to provide more precision artillery systems, explaining that his country would need "at least 100" HIMARS system to be able to launch an effective counterattack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the American Wall Street Journal that Western supplies of HIMARS missiles "made a difference, but they are not enough to turn the equation," adding, "We need air defense systems to prevent Russia from launching long-range missiles." peaceful cities.

The Ukrainian president added that his country's forces are now able to fire 6,000 shells per day, while Moscow has begun to suffer from a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Zelensky told the American newspaper that his forces were losing between 100 and 200 soldiers a day last May and June, but the number has now decreased to 30 dead.

Poland and Germany

On the other hand, Deputy Polish Foreign Minister Shimon Szynkowski Phil Sick said in a statement to the German magazine Der Spiegel on Friday that "German promises of a circular exchange of tanks have proven to be a deceptive maneuver," adding that Poland considers German offers unacceptable, And therefore now depends on the help of other partners in the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO).

The Polish official explained that the Germans initially offered Poland tanks "older than the ones we offered to Ukraine," adding that this offer "cannot be accepted because it is not in our interest that the state of our armament deteriorate or that our soldiers train on equipment dating back to the 1960s."

"We were offered a symbolic number of tanks... It is difficult to consider this a serious proposal after we have delivered more than 200 tanks to Ukraine within two months," the Polish deputy foreign minister said, adding that Poland would prefer to talk to other NATO partners "who really want to help us in this." matter."

Poland is already receiving tanks from the United States and Britain in exchange for what it supplies Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The circular exchange of tanks was supposed to enable rapid delivery of heavy ordnance familiar to soldiers in Ukraine.

Germany has announced that it will provide NATO partners in eastern Europe with other alternative weapons, or will help them obtain alternatives, but this strategy has not moved forward so far, and the German government has not yet announced any information on the situation.

"What must happen quickly and especially is to support Ukraine, because it is fighting a brave battle," German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement today, Friday, in response to a question about Poland's criticism. (Howitzer) self-propelled and multiple rocket launchers.