Poland said Thursday it plans to give Ukraine about a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first NATO member to fulfill Kyiv’s increasingly urgent requests for warplanes to defend itself against the Russian invasion.
Warsaw will hand over four of the Soviet-made warplanes “within the next few days,” President Andrzej Duda said, and the rest needed servicing but would be supplied later. The Polish word he used to describe the total number can mean between 11 and 19.
“They are in the last years of their functioning, but they are in good working condition,” Duda said.
He did not say whether other countries would follow suit, although Slovakia has said it would send its own disused MiGs to Ukraine. Poland also was the first NATO nation to provide Ukraine with German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
This photograph taken on Jan. 1, 2023, shows a MIG-29 Ukrainian fighter jet flying over eastern Ukraine.
SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images
On Wednesday, Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller said some other countries also had pledged MiGs to Kyiv, but did not identify them. Both Poland and Slovakia had indicated they were ready to hand over their planes, but only as part of a wider international coalition doing the same.
The government in neighboring NATO member Germany appeared caught off guard by Duda’s announcement.
“So far, everyone has agreed that it’s not the time to send fighter jets,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters. “I don’t have any confirmation from Poland yet that this has happened.”
The White House called Poland’s move a sovereign decision and lauded the Poles for continuing to “punch above their weight” in assisting Kyiv, but it stressed the move would have no bearing on President Biden, who has resisted calls to provide U.S. F-16s to Ukraine.
“There’s no change in our view with respect to fighter aircraft at this time,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “That is our sovereign decision. That is where we are, other nations can speak to their own” decisions.
The White House said Poland notified the U.S. of its decision to provide MiGs before Duda announced the move.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had several dozen MiG-29s it inherited in the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, but it’s unclear how many remain in service after more than a year of fighting.
The debate over whether to provide non-NATO member Ukraine with fighter jets started last year, but NATO allies expressed concern about escalating the alliance’s role in the war. The hesitation continued even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made increasingly vocal pleas for Western supporters to share their warplanes.
Duda made the announcement during a joint news conference in Warsaw with the visiting Czech President Petr Pavel.
Duda said Poland’s air force would replace the planes it gives to Ukraine with South Korea-made FA-50 fighters and American-made F-35s.
Poland has provided Ukraine with crucial support during the war. It is hosting thousands of American troops and has taken in more Ukrainians than any other nation during the refugee exodus sparked by the Russian invasion.
The central European nation experienced Russian invasions and occupations for centuries and still fears Russia despite being a NATO member.
When two Lockheed Martin F-35s flown by the United States Air Force roared through Indian skies for the first time this week at an international air show in southern India, spectators were awestruck by the fighter jet’s design and aerobatics.
The fifth-generation fighter jet has stealth, supersonic, and multi-role capabilities – making it the most lethal in the world. And the presence of the aircraft — an F-35A Joint Strike Fighter from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and an F35-A Lightning II from the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, along with F-16s, Super Hornets and B-1B bombers — at the weeklong aviation exhibition in Bengaluru fueled speculation whether the American show of strength was a sign of a growing strategic relationship between the two countries or an attempt by Washington to woo New Delhi away from its biggest military supplier and decades-old friend, Russia.
The USAF F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team flies at the 2023 Aero India show in Bengaluru, India.
USAF F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team
“Frankly, we have seen such high-level American participation earlier too … but geopolitically, things are a little different. China is a little more aggressive, so this is significant,” Manmohan Bahadur, a retired air vice marshal of the Indian Air Force, told CBS News.
India has been looking to modernize its aging fighter jet fleet to boost its air power, especially in the face of renewed border tension with China and a decades-old conflict with Pakistan. In 2019, Pakistan shot down an Indian fighter jet after an air clash and captured its pilot.
The United States, which is selective about which countries it sells the F-35 to, has not made it clear whether they have offered the jet to India — nor has the Indian Air Force said anything official about it.
“There is no doubt that it’s a very capable fighter jet, but I don’t think India would consider it as of now … certainly not in the near future because it has to fit our scheme of things, our current systems,” Bahadur told CBS News.
The USAF F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team flies at the 2023 Aero India aviation show in Bengaluru, India.
USAF F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team
But Rear Admiral Michael L. Baker, defense attache at the U.S. embassy in India, said New Delhi was in the “very early stages” of considering whether it wanted the plane. The jets are estimated to have a lifetime cost of $1.7 trillion, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The majority of India’s military equipment — across the nation’s air force, navy and army — has come from Russia. Last year, when Russia attacked Ukraine, India resisted pressure from its western allies to distance itself from Moscow — the only major U.S. ally that neither condemned Russia in clear terms nor backed sanctions against the country.
But reports say India has been concerned about Russian military supply delays because of the Ukraine war, especially at a time of growing tensions with China and Pakistan.
Major global arms manufacturers were in the audience on Monday in Bengaluru when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India aims to more than triple its annual defense exports to $5 billion over the next two years. While India aspires to become a manufacturer of the sophisticated defense equipment in collaboration with global giants, first to meet its own needs and eventually to export, it will have to depend on arms imports until then.
And the strong U.S. presence at Aero India — which Major General Julian C. Cheater, assistant deputy undersecretary for international affairs of the U.S. Air Force, said earlier this week was “the ideal forum to showcase the most advanced, capable, lethal and interoperable weapons systems the U.S. has to offer” — was a seemingly soft and stealthy pitch for India’s interest.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says most debris from the suspected Chinese spy balloon has been recovered. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin sat down with Austin in his first interview since the object was shot down on Saturday and discussed his interview with Anne-Marie Green and Seth Doane.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for fighter jets to ensure his country’s victory over Russia in a dramatic speech before the U.K. Parliament, where he also thanked the British people for their support since “Day One” of Moscow’s invasion. The embattled leader’s daring to visit Britain in a bid for more advanced weapons comes as Ukraine braces for an expected Russian offensive and hatches its own plans to retake land held by Moscow’s forces.
Support from Western allies thus far has been key to Ukraine’s surprisingly stiff defense — and now the two sides are engaged in grinding battles.
Hundreds of lawmakers and parliamentary staff packed the 900-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest — and unheated — part of Parliament for Zelenskyy’s speech. It was only his second confirmed journey outside Ukraine since Russia invaded nearly a year ago.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a peace sign as he is applauded by Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord McFall, (L) and Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle (R) after he addressed parliamentarians in Westminster Hall on February 8, 2023 in London, England.
Getty Images
Zelenskyy, wearing his trademark olive drab sweatshirt, urged allies to send his country jets, saying combat aircraft would be “wings for freedom.”
The president, who planned to meet later with King Charles III, noted that the British monarch was a qualified military pilot.
“The king is an Air Force pilot,” Zekenskyy said, and “in Ukraine today, every Air Force pilot is a king.”
He brought a gift of a Ukrainian Air Force helmet, inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot with the phrase: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”
In past wars, “evil lost,” Zekenskyy told lawmakers. “We know Russia will lose and we we know victory will change the world.″
He also called for stronger sanctions against Moscow, until “Russia is deprived of any possibility to finance this war.”
He said he was speaking on behalf of the brave people of his own country, and thanked Britons for their bravery.
“London has stood with Kyiv since Day One,” he said, handing over a combat helmet as a thank you to Britain.
Zelenskyy has rallied support for his country repeatedly through such speeches — mostly given remotely — to Western lawmakers. The Ukrainian leader arrived on a Royal Air Force plane in London on Wednesday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted him on the tarmac, tweeting a photo of him embracing the Ukrainian leader.
“The United Kingdom was one of the first to come to Ukraine’s aid. And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support,” Zelenskyy said on Instagram.
A large convoy of vehicles left the airport and headed straight to Downing Street in central London. Both leaders posed briefly for photos in front of the famous black door that leads into the U.K. prime minister’s residence.
The U.K. is one of the biggest military backers of Ukraine and has sent the country more than 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in weapons and equipment.
The visit comes as Sunak announced that Britain will train Ukrainian pilots on “NATO-standard fighter jets.” Ukraine has urged its allies to send jets, though the U.K. says it’s not practical to provide the Ukrainian military with British warplanes.
More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have also been trained at bases in the U.K., some on the Challenger 2 tanks that Britain is sending.
A British Challenger 2 tank moves during the Winter Camp 23 military drills near Tapa, Estonia, February 5, 2023.
Pavel Golovkin/AP
“I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future,” Sunak said.
Coinciding with the visit, the U.K. government announced a new round of sanctions against six entities that Britain said supplied equipment to the Russian military.
CST, a manufacturer of Russian drones and parts for helicopters used against Ukraine, were among those sanctioned. Others targeted included five individuals linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s luxury residences, including Boris Titov and Aerostart owner Viktor Myachin.
Zelenskyy addressed the U.K. Parliament remotely in March, two weeks after the start of the invasion. He echoed World War II leader Winston Churchill’s famous “never surrender” speech, vowing that Ukrainians “will fight till the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.”
Before Sunak took office, Zelenskyy had formed a bond with Boris Johnson, who was one of Ukraine’s most vocal backers while he was prime minister. Sunak took office in October and has pledged to maintain the U.K.’s support.
Zelenskyy visited the U.S. in December. On Wednesday, he may be seeking Western pledges of more advanced weapons before potential spring offensives by both Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy will also meet with King Charles III and U.K. military chiefs during his visit.
In Brussels, there were increasing expectations that the Ukrainian leader might also make his first visit to European Union institutions since the war began.
Leaders from 27-nation bloc will be gathering for a summit in Brussels on Thursday. That would enable Zelenskyy to meet with all major leaders of the bloc in one day. Zelenskyy has often addressed EU summits only through video calls from Ukraine.
The EU’s legislature has also slated a special plenary session in Brussels for Thursday in the hopes that Zelenskyy will come following his trip to Britain.
The London visit came as Russian forces blasted areas of eastern Ukraine with more artillery bombardments, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, in what Kyiv authorities believe is part of a new thrust by the Kremlin’s forces before the invasion anniversary.
Russian forces over the past day launched major shelling attacks on areas near the front line in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, killing a 74-year-old woman and wounding a 16-year-old girl in the border town of Vovchansk, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.
Russian forces in Ukraine are focusing their efforts on “waging a counteroffensive” in the country’s industrial east, with the aim of taking full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
Russian troops launched assaults near Bakhmut and Vuhledar, two mining towns in the Donetsk region that have been among Moscow’s key targets, Ukrainian officials said.
Seizing Bakhmut could severely disrupt Ukraine’s military supply routes. It would also open a door for Moscow’s forces to drive toward key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk.
Ukrainian authorities say the Kremlin’s goal is to complete full control of the Donbas, an expansive industrial area bordering Russia. That would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a major battlefield success after months of setbacks and help him rally public opinion behind the war.
Military analysts say that after a Ukrainian counteroffensive that started last summer and recaptured large areas from Russia, the war has been largely static in recent months.
Moscow, meanwhile, believes Ukraine is preparing its own battlefield push.
The Russian-installed leader of the occupied Luhansk region said Wednesday the situation in some areas is “very difficult” because Kyiv is mustering forces for a counterattack.
Leonid Pasechnik told Russian state TV that the situation is “very difficult” in areas around a key Russian supply route. “Unfortunately, the enemy is accumulating sufficient reserves there, forces to counterattack, to return the lost territories,” he said.
It wasn’t possible to verify the claims by the two sides.
A pilot escaped without serious injury after an F-35 fighter jet crashed at an Air Force base in Utah Wednesday evening. The crash also sparked a small brush fire.
The crash occurred at about 6:15 p.m. local time at Hill Air Force Base, Col. Craig Andrle, commander of the 388th Fighter Wing, said in a Wednesday night news briefing.
It took place on the north end of a runway, Andrle disclosed, as the pilot was returning from a routine training mission. The pilot safely ejected the jet and was taken to a hospital for observation.
“Tonight, first and foremost, we’re thankful that he’s OK, he got out of the aircraft,” Andrle said.
No one on the ground was hurt, Andrle said. The exact cause of the crash is unknown.
According to the Utah state fire officials, the crash sparked an 8- to 10-acre brush fire on Defense Department land. Multiple fire agencies responded and were able to extinguish the blaze, state fire officials tweeted. Andrle said it took about an hour for crews to knock down the fire.
New Start: #TheStripFire is 8-10 acres. Cause was a downed Military Aircraft. No injuries reported. Fire was on DOD land. Fire suppression by Weber Co. resources and Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) Fire has been suppressed but continues with Haz-Mat and other needs. #ffslkwpic.twitter.com/3ONcMbyUbV
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox had tweeted that his office was “in communication” with the Air Force base and was “praying for the safety of the pilot and first responders and will continue to monitor the situation.”
Hill Air Force Base is located about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City.
A fire sparked by a fighter jet crash at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Oct. 19, 2022.
President Joe Biden stands after delivering remarks on lowering costs for American families at Irvine Valley College in Orange County on October 14, 2022 in Irvine, California.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
An F-16 fighter jet intercepted a small plane last Friday in restricted airspace over Southern California, near a community college where President Biden had just begun speaking. The incident occurred over Santa Ana, Calif.; the president was at a community college in Irvine, about 12 miles away.
According to an Air Force press release, the fighter jet fired flares to “gain the attention” of the Cessna pilot. Air traffic control audio revealed the F-16 alerted the pilot numerous times he had been “intercepted” by the armed jet on guard and had entered restricted airspace. The pilot asked the errant Cessna to acknowledge a radio call and rock its wings.
An unverified tweet of the conversation says the F-16 fighter pilot also tried to get the Cessna pilot’s attention with so-called “headbutt” maneuvers, like flying in front of the plane.
A temporary flight restriction or TFR is almost always in place wherever the president is traveling.
Fighter pilots deployed to intercept a wayward plane will first attempt to communicate with the pilot of the errant aircraft. If communication cannot be established, the fighter pilot will then use “non-verbal” tactics like deploying flares or headbutts.
Mr. Biden’s speech on the economy at Irvine Valley College started at 3:08 p.m. PT, and the intercept occurred just two minutes later, according to the Air Force.
Flight records show the Cessna departed from Kingman, Ariz., and landed in Chino, Calif., at 3:24 p.m. The fixed-wing, single-engine plane’s altitude was about 5,500 feet when it was intercepted. FlightAware.com shows that the plane was inside the restricted security zone for about four minutes.
A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency was aware of the incident and the president’s schedule went uninterrupted.
Breaches of FAA-restricted airspace during presidential trips are fairly common and almost always a result of pilot error.
NORAD and the Secret Service confirmed a second airspace violation occurred last week when a different plane entered restricted airspace in California.
In June, President Biden and the first lady were whisked to a secure location in Rehoboth Beach, when a private plane inadvertently flew near the first couple’s vacation home. Witnesses spotted two fighter jets responding to the aircraft. A brief investigation found the pilot was tuned to the wrong radio frequency.
