White House responds to Zelenskyy’s criticism
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News’ David Muir that he believes President Joe Biden can do more to facilitate getting Polish fighter jets to Ukraine, the Biden administration said it is ultimately up to Poland.
“This is Poland’s sovereign decision to make,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC News’ Cecilia Vega. “We have in no way opposed Poland transferring planes to Ukraine.”
Psaki said there are “practical questions” to consider, such as how the planes would be transferred and where they would depart from and land. She also noted that procuring new planes and transferring serious weapons systems often takes years -- so a speedy transfer would represent a major challenge.
Vega asked Psaki if it was just logistical issues or whether Biden was concerned that supplying planes to Poland would “exacerbate the conflict.”
The press secretary said there are logistical challenges and that they’re “looking at all of those factors.”
“But we are not certainly preventing or blocking or discouraging Poland,” Psaki said. “That is, they are a sovereign country. They make their own decisions, but it is not as easy as moving planes around.”
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky