Reuters
Ukraine’s military gets more aircraft and parts to repair others, Pentagon says
April 19, 2022
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military has received additional aircraft as well parts for repairs to get damaged aircraft flying again, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Ukraine has defied expectations of allies and military experts by not only keeping its air force operational nearly two months after the start of Russia’s invasion but actually repairing aircraft and, apparently, adding to its inventory.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby did not offer details on which countries provided aircraft, but acknowledged new transfers and said Ukraine had more operable fighter aircraft than it had two weeks ago.
“They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air,” Kirby told a news briefing, without elaborating.
Kirby said Washington had not provided any aircraft to Kyiv.
“We certainly have helped with the trans-shipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported whole aircraft,” he said.
Still, that might soon change. The United States has announced plans to transfer Russian-made helicopters to Ukraine that had once been intended for Afghanistan.
More than 50 days into the war, the skies over Ukraine are still contested in part due to Ukraine’s fleet of aircraft and air defenses, including portable, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles provided by the United States and its allies.
That has allowed Ukraine to wage a much more effective ground campaign than if Russia had air dominance and could defend its invading forces from the skies.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler)
Related:
The Hill
Ukraine gets additional aircraft, plane parts to bolster fleet
Ellen Mitchell – April 19, 2022
Ukraine has been given additional fighter aircraft and aircraft parts from other countries to increase its fleet amid Russia’s attack, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson said Tuesday.
“I would just say, without getting into what other nations are providing, that they have received additional platforms and parts to be able to increase their fleet size, their aircraft fleet size. I think I’d leave it at that,” press secretary John Kirby told reporters.
He also said Ukrainian forces have received support “to get some of their fixed wing aircraft more operable again,” and now have available to them more fixed-wing fighter aircraft than they did two weeks ago.
“That’s not by accident,” Kirby said. “That’s because other nations who have experience with those kinds of aircraft have been able to help them get more aircraft up and running.”
The United States has begun to flow into Europe security assistance for Ukraine from the $800 million lethal aid package approved by the Biden administration last week.
A flight carrying such assistance arrived in Europe yesterday, with seven more expected to arrive on the continent in the next 24 hours, a U.S. defense official told reporters earlier Tuesday.
The overall package includes 11 Mi-17 helicopters, 300 Switchblade drones, 18 Howitzers, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers, 10 counter-artillery radars, 500 Javelin anti-tank missiles, chemical attack protective equipment, body armor and helmets.
“None of these shipments sit around very long before being offloaded off of aircraft and onloaded appropriately in ground transportation to get them into Ukraine,” the official added.
Kirby said Tuesday that every day “there’s somewhere on the neighborhood of eight to 10 flights” laden with Ukrainian military aid landing at European locations.
“They’re not all U.S. flights and they’re not all coming from America — but eight to 10 flights … that material is getting put on pallets and put on a ground delivery transportation means and getting into Ukraine via a various amount of routes,” Kirby said.
Of note are the heavier systems being given of late from the U.S. and other NATO nations — including aircraft, Howitzers and tanks — due to Russia’s warnings that such military aid would be seen as interfering in the war.