The Pentagon said Wednesday that it is bluntly opposed to a Polish plan to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, CNN reported.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told the Polish minister of defense that the US does not support the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian air force "at this time," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said, either by Poland transferring them to Ukraine with the US backfilling Poland's fleet or by Poland transferring the MiG-29s to the US to then give to Ukraine.

Austin "stressed that we do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian air force at this time, and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody either," Kirby said.

His comments come a day after the US rejected a proposal from Poland to send Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine by way of a US-NATO air base in Germany.

The idea proposed by Poland is extremely dangerous, Kirby said, as the US and NATO seek to avoid a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia.

The United States also believes that the "best" way to support Ukraine is to provide weapons and systems they need most to repel Russian aggression, Kirby added.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/09/politics/ukraine-russia-poland-fighter-jets/index.html