Putin beordrar styrkor att gå in i Ukraina - INVASION NU (2022-02-24)

Officials describe the issue as two-fold: a logistics problem of getting the jets to Ukraine, and a political problem of avoiding escalation with Russia. US officials described the Polish plan as failing to adequately address both.

One administration official said the US was concerned Russia could interpret jets flying into Ukraine from a NATO base as an attack.

Prior to the call, US officials had downplayed the prospects of helping with a transfer of the MiG planes, which Ukrainian pilots have been trained to fly. Officials said they were focused mainly on other areas of security assistance, including sending anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. The logistical challenges of getting the aircraft to Ukraine appeared to some officials an unworkable challenge, and they questioned how effective the planes would be.

But Zelensky’s request on the call, which lawmakers described as impassioned, seemed to change the calculus. Immediately after the session ended, both Republicans and Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, came out in support.

That left the administration with little choice but to publicly get behind the idea, even if some officials were skeptical. By Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was working with Polish officials to transfer the planes to Ukraine and “backfill” with US jets.

It’s gotten so bad that Russia’s Defense Ministry has actually acknowledged that some conscripts have been sent into battle in Ukraine. Putin has explicitly promised this wouldn’t happen. *video*
Two days ago: Putin said that conscripts and reservists will not participate in the military operation in Ukraine.