As of: 03/06/2022 8:43 p.m
In order to help Ukraine militarily, the USA is relying on its Eastern European partners. During his visit to Poland, US Secretary of State Blinken tried to persuade Warsaw to supply Kyiv with Soviet-era fighter jets.
Poland, the Republic of Moldova and then the Baltic States: US Secretary of State Blinken conducts crisis diplomacy in Eastern Europe – and during the stop in the Republic of Moldova still found time to appear on the most important American Sunday talk shows. There he explained a specific goal of his trip: to convince Poland to supply fighter jets to Ukraine.
“We are working with Poland right now on whether we can replenish what they are supplying to the Ukrainians. Fighter planes that Ukrainian pilots can fly,” said Blinken. “But we also want to see if we can help close Polish security gaps that may arise as a result. We’re actively talking about that right now.”
The Polish government denied on Twitter that it wants to supply the Ukrainians with combat aircraft. But according to US media, the US government is trying to sell Warsaw the deal by offering to supply American F16 fighter jets in return.
Selenskyj calls for more support
The Biden administration is under massive pressure to continue helping Ukraine – pressure from inside and outside. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy begged members of the US Congress directly for more support during a video conference.
And that’s why Democratic MP Steve Cohen thinks additional fighter jets are a good idea. At the moment, the Ukrainians are “sitting ducks”, vulnerable to Russian air raids. With fighter jets they would at least have a small chance, Cohen said on CNN.
Will there be an import ban for Russian oil?
Republican Senator Marco Rubio also pleaded with ABC to support Ukraine with fighter jets: “That would be great. As long as they can actually use them, given the Russian anti-aircraft defense system. But we should do everything we can to help them.”
Like many MPs from both parties, Rubio also supports Zelenskyy’s call for a ban on imports of Russian oil in order to cut off Putin’s money supply to finance the war. But the US government is still reluctant to take this step – for fear of further rising energy prices. Rubio does not want to accept this:
This argument that stopping Russian oil drives up prices for Americans is an acknowledgment that this killer, this butcher, Putin, has us in his hands. Why did we want to continue to allow him that? We should produce more of our own oil. And less Russian shopping. Or rather: none at all.
“Very active discussion right now”
In fact, the Biden administration seems to be slowly changing stance on this point. In any case, Foreign Minister Blinken said on CNN: “We are talking to our European partners about how we can coordinate an import stop for Russian oil – and at the same time ensure that there is enough oil available on the world market. That’s a very active discussion right now.”
Gasoline prices in the USA are already more than 30 percent above the previous year’s level. Democratic MP Cohen therefore makes the following recommendation to his compatriots: Americans should always remember when they fill up their tanks: it’s all Putin’s fault.
Polish fighter jets for Ukraine? debate in the United States
Julia Kastein, ARD Washington, March 6, 2022 7:44 p.m