Kiyv: According to the chairman of NATO's military committee, Ukraine will not receive Western fighter jets for its current counteroffensive and will have to make do without them due to logistical issues and the extensive pilot training needed.
Admiral Rob Bauer, the most senior military representative in NATO and chair of the military committee, said in an interview with Britain's LBC radio station on Monday that any discussion of Kiev acquiring fighter jets must wait until after its current offensive operation.
"The fighters discussion is an important one, but it will not be resolved in the short term for this counter-offensive," he declared. "Training those pilots, training those technicians, and making sure there is a logistic organisation that can actually sustain these aircraft will not be available before this counter-offensive."
Bauer asserted that despite being in "an existential fight," Ukraine has "an advantage" over Moscow because of its access to Western weapons and training. He argued that, despite the fact that such transfers are currently impossible, Kiev's supporters "shouldn't mix" discussions of the counteroffensive and Ukraine's requests for fighter jets.
Only a few sponsors have agreed to hand over their warplanes, with Poland and Slovakia approving transfers of MiG fighters from the Soviet era, despite repeated requests from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
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Washington has so far rejected requests for F-16s, citing both problems with supply and worries that the weapons could intensify direct hostilities with Russia. The Patriot missile defence system and the M1 Abrams main battle tank were both refused by US officials, but they have since changed their positions, and the Pentagon has already begun training Ukrainian pilots to fly American aircraft.
Although Britain has approved the transfer of Storm Shadow missiles to Kiev, the longest-range weapons yet given to Ukraine, Germany and the UK have also rejected requests for fighter jets. Although Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the project is "not a straightforward thing," pointing to logistical and training challenges, London has also stated it is willing to work with a "coalition" of states to supply fighter jets.
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Early in June, Ukraine began its counteroffensive, but the Russian Defence Ministry reports that the majority of its assaults have been repelled with heavy losses. Despite President Zelensky's admission that the operations are moving "slower than desired" as a result of "tough resistance" from Russian forces, military officials have insisted that a sizable contingent of reserve troops has not yet been sent out.
Late last month, senior Zelensky aide Mikhail Podoliak criticised Western backers of Ukraine for being too slow in supplying weapons, alleging that this allowed Moscow to erect strong defences.
