Poland will not give F-16 jets, Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine

Ukraine has suffered a major blow even as it gears up for a counteroffensive against Russia with Poland backtracking from its decision to send F-16 jets and Patriot air defence systems to the war-torn country.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw does not have enough F-16 jets or Patriot air defence systems to send to Kyiv, but asked other countries to do so right away.

“We have too few F-16 aircraft, so at the moment, today, there are no such expectations from us,” the Prime Minister of Poland said at a press conference at Castle Mimi in Moldova, on the first day of the European Political Community summit.

According to a report by RT, the Polish Air Force officially has 48 F-16 fighters, 12 of which are training variants. The country has ordered 48 Golden Eagle light jets from South Korea and 32 F-35s from the US, but they have not yet been delivered.

“We handed over our MiGs – good planes, good fighters, and this is greatly appreciated,” Morawiecki said.

The Polish PM also said that that his country will also not be able to give Ukraine its Patroit air defence systems.

“Just as we don’t have enough F-16 fighters, we can’t hand over our Patriot systems to Ukraine for the same reason,” Morawiecki said, adding that it was important for other countries that had Patriots “to share them with Ukraine as soon as possible.”

To bolster its forces’ combat capabilities against Russia, Ukraine has been demanding Patriots and F-16s from the West.

Ukraine has so far received German Leopard and British Challenger tanks, US-made HIMARS rocket launchers, a variety of towed and self-propelled NATO artillery, as well as portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft rockets.

The US and the EU have also provided direct financial aid to Ukraine to keep its government functioning.

With inputs from agencies

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