Fearing a major backlash, members of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have refused and is not sending fighter jets to Ukraine to fight Russia, despite the US’s “green light.”
NATO was founded in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and a number of Western European countries to provide collective security against the then-Soviet Union. Currently, there are 30 member countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky wanted his country to join NATO, which Russian President Vladimir Putin opposed, resulting in war.
Zelensky sought assistance from NATO countries in his fight against Russia, but they refused to send jets or engage in direct combat. Zelenskiy also sought to declare his country a no-fly zone, which would prohibit Russian aircraft from entering Ukrainian airspace, but the request was denied by the US and NATO.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that NATO members have permission to send fighter jets to Ukraine to assist the country in defending itself against Russia’s invasion.
“That gets a green light,” Blinken said to the media when asked whether the Polish government, a member of NATO, could send fighter planes to Ukraine.
Blinken, who was in Eastern Europe meeting with US allies, stated that NATO countries and members of the Group of Seven are concerned. “working together to raise the pressure on Russia, including through additional sanctions, which will be implemented in the coming days”.
The Polish government, on the other hand, denied reports that it was willing to send fighter jets to Ukraine.
According to reports, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovakia may be able to provide fighter aircraft from the Soviet era, such as Mig-29s and Su-25s, which the Ukrainian Air Force also uses.
Not only Poland, but Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovakia have all denied sending fighter jets to Ukraine.
Seeing the NATO members’ reluctance, the Ukrainian President expressed his helplessness and dissatisfaction with NATO’s failure to intervene.
“There was a NATO summit, a weak summit, a confused summit, a summit where it was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe’s freedom to be the number one goal,” Zelensky had stated.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated on Tuesday that the US-led transatlantic military alliance has a “responsibility” to ensure Russia’s offensive “does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine.”
