Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany reiterated over the weekend that Berlin would not send fighter jets to Ukraine, hours after a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said talks had begun among allies to provide the military aircraft and long-range missiles Kyiv says it urgently needs.
Mr. Zelensky is betting that he can ride momentum that has helped him land the most advanced American and German tanks to push for fighter jets
Ukrainian officials have followed the same pattern for nearly a year. They press and cajole allies for weapons considered off limits and then lavish praise on them when a deal is struck. But before long, the Ukrainians ratchet their demands higher, for weapons that are considered off limits by U.S. and European officials who fear they may provoke Russia. It’s worked each time. First for guided missile systems, then armored fighting vehicles, and now battle tanks.
In the latest case, Ukraine made its plea for jets the same day the tanks deal was announced.
Kyiv’s demands for more advanced weaponry have taken on greater urgency amid fears that Moscow plans to launch a large-scale assault aimed at regaining the upper hand, nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Military experts and allies say they also believe that Ukraine will try to mount an offensive of its own to drive Russia out of occupied areas in the east.
On Saturday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Mr. Zelesnky, said in an interview that “fast-track” talks are underway to potentially secure military planes and long-range missiles for Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.
Long-range missiles are critical “to drastically curtail the key tool of the Russian army” by destroying weapons warehouses, he said.
Kyiv and military experts say fighter jets would primarily be used defensively to counter Russian airstrikes. Even if the United States doesn’t send its own, European nations with American-made jets could decide to send Ukraine theirs, though Washington would have to approve those transactions.
Mr. Podolyak criticized some of Ukraine’s allies for being conservative in their aid thus far “due to fear of changes in the international architecture.”
In an interview with the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel published on Sunday, Mr. Scholz also cautioned Ukraine’s allies against competing in a bidding war for advanced weaponry.
Mr. Scholz acknowledged that Ukraine’s demands keep coming, and said that obliging all of the requests without a clear rationale may undermine the reputation of governments that appear to write a blank check to Ukraine.
Mr. Scholz said last week that Berlin would not send fighter jets to Ukraine, establishing a new hard line on aid after agreeing to send it 14 Leopard 2 tanks following months of resistance. His decision opened the way for several other European allies to send Kyiv their own Leopard 2 tanks.
“That we are not talking about fighter aircraft is something I made clear very early on, and I’m making that clear here as well,” Mr. Scholz said in his announcement about the tanks.
On the battlefield, Ukraine is bracing for an escalation by Russia.
“It is no secret that they are preparing for a new wave by Feb. 24,” Oleksiy Danilov, the head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, told Radio Liberty on Friday, referring to Russian forces and what will be the first anniversary of their full-scale invasion. Moscow’s immediate goal, he said, is to capture the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions and then “to completely go beyond the borders of the regions.”
Shashank Bengali contributed reporting.
