GOP senators urge Biden, NATO to expedite weapon supply to Ukraine amid Russian aggression

A day after the United States quashed Poland's offer to provide fighter jets to Kyiv, around 42 Republican Senators urged US President Joe Biden and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to expedite aircraft and defence systems to Ukraine. Condemning Washington's decision to refuse Poland's proposition, the senators in a letter to Biden said that the US must "transfer aircraft...(to meet) dire need of lethal aid" to counter the aggravated Russian aggression against Ukraine. The senators also mentioned that they "strongly disagree" with Biden's administration over its stance on Poland's offer.

In the letter, the senators also urged the US to work with its NATO allies to support Ukraine Armed Forces and provide adequate resources. However, administration officials believe that uniting behind Poland's proposal could pull the Western alliance into a confrontation with Russia. Given that Ukrainian Air Force is largely intact, the US also predicted that agreeing to the Polish offer could risk escalation without significantly changing the situation in Europe.

Following the submission of the letter, Senators Romney and Ernst addressed a press conference where they reiterated calls for the White House to accept Warsaw's proposal. "I want to underscore the feelings in my heart and the feelings of every person I know in this great country of affection and concern and hope for the people of Ukraine, and admiration of President Zelenskyy in his effort to lead the world. He has asked us for aircraft—specifically MiGs. We need to get him those MiGs. It is a bipartisan message—not just us," Senator Romney said.

"Enough talk. People are dying. Send them the planes that they need. They say they need MiGs. People say, well maybe that’s not the ideal weapon for them. That is what they say they want. They are there. They have the eyes to determine what they want. They want MiGs. Get them the MiGs," he added.

US denies Polish offer to provide MiG-29 fighters to Kyiv

In a bid to deter Russia's offensive against Ukraine, Poland on Tuesday said that it is ready to hand over its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. However, it added that the aircraft would be delivered only to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, leaving the decision to deliver them to Ukraine up to the US and NATO alliance. As the announcement came as a surprise for the US officials, they  quickly rejected the idea as Pentagon stated the proposal of sending fighters from a US/NATO base “to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.”

Poland's plane offer also faced a major setback as Pentagon spokesperson Kirby declared that the scheme was "not tenable." He underscored that Washington is not clear about the "substantive rationale" for the proposal. "We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one,” FT quoted.

Nearly 2mn displaced in Russia-Ukraine war

The developments came after the US House approved a mass spending bill worth $13.6 billion in aid on Wednesday to help war-torn Ukraine and affected European allies. After two weeks into the war, resulting in massive devastation and deaths, Russian forces on Wednesday agreed to humanitarian corridors in order to allow mass evacuation of civilians from war zones. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, around 40,000 people have been evacuated so far through green corridors. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Ukraine and thousands more injured since February 24 after Putin announced and full-blown "military operations" on its ex-Soviet neighbour. As per the UN refugee wing, at least 2 million people have fled the country in the wake of the raging war.

(Image: AP)