Duda announced Poland’s refusal to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

Polish President Andrzej Duda said that the country’s authorities would not transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, about this reported RIA Novosti with reference to Polish television.

“If you ask me about fighter jets, then I will answer this way: we must remember that we support Ukraine, but we also care about the security of Poland,” he said. The president also added that Poland has about 50 F-16 fighters at its disposal and the country is still waiting for the delivery of F-35s, contracts for which were signed several years ago.

On January 30, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, reported on his Telegram channel that Ukraine “has positive signals from Poland” regarding F-16 fighters.

After that, the State Secretary of the Polish Ministry of National Defense, Wojciech Skurkiewicz, wrote on his Twitter account that “there is no topic about the transfer of fighters.” The US also refused to hand over the planes to Ukraine. When asked by Politico about providing F-16s, US President Joe Biden answered with a short “no”.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv. In particular, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia.