On Sunday, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus (58 members) was the latest group to call for more military aid from the U.S. including the security of Stinger missiles and air-defense system.
The group released a statement saying that Russia still has air supremacy over Ukraine despite the heroic and skilled resistance of Ukrainian forces. If the Ukrainians don’t receive the necessary military assistance, Russia’s advantage could quickly turn into air dominance.
The caucus urged the Biden administration to work with NATO allies to arrange and speed up the transfer of any available S-300 surface-to-air-missile systems to Ukraine.
According to the Problem Solvers Caucus, “Providing Soviet-era platforms that Ukrainian military personnel have operated and maintained will be crucial to their success on battlegrounds and will also protect U.S. defence technology from being taken over by the Russians.”
On Sunday, both Republican Senator Rob Portman (Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar) said that war planes were key tools for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s air force.
Portman and Klobuchar were part of a delegation of four that visited Poland over the weekend to meet officials and see refugee sites.
Portman of Ohio said, “What we have heard from the Ukrainians directly is that they want them badly,” in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.” refers to Soviet-style MiG-29 fighter planes. They want better control of the skies to give them fighting chances. It’s so confusing to me why it’s not happening.
Ohio Republican said that, while they are not the most advanced anti-aircraft systems available, such systems as the S-300 remain “very effective.”
“Let’s at least get them into Ukraine. Let’s not talk about it. “Let’s do it,” he said to CNN from Poland. “But airplanes are also vital.”
Klobuchar, also available on CNN said that she spoke to President Biden about 10 days ago. She made it clear that she supports sending fighter planes to Ukraine.
“I don’t rule out planes at one point. She said that you can only take each day as it comes and make the best defense systems decisions. “But that can’t always happen on the air. Or you would be giving Vladimir Putin a roadmap to NATO’s actions here to protect Ukraine.”
The Minnesota Democrat still believes that planes, drones, Stingers, and Javelin missiles will help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s ongoing attacks.
She said, “One of the important things we need to remember is that this is all about Air Defense.”
The U.S. was working with Poland to send their Russian-made planes to Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated last week to “Face the Nation” that the Polish government had given “a green-light for sending planes” to Ukraine.
After Poland offered to send its MiG-29 fighters to Ramstein Air Base in Germany last week, and then “place them at their disposal,” the Pentagon declined the offer, saying that it was not “tenable.”
Top officials in Ukraine continue to call on the U.S. to provide fighter jets to the country. Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, stated that warplanes were in “highest demand” as well as the “most pressing matter.”
“If we lose control of the sky, we can’t stop two things happening: We cannot stop Russian bombardiers destroying our cities and killing civilians. When asked by what type of military equipment Ukraine requires from its allies and partners, Kuleba stated that we cannot destroy Russian columns headed towards our large cities on the roads. We need more planes to achieve these two goals.
Kuleba described the last week’s back-and-forth over plans to give Ukraine planes a “diplomatic mystery”, which was reminiscent of ping-pong.