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Poland is willing to give MiG-29 fighter planes to Ukraine in exchange for a guarantee from the White House that it will provide US-made fighter jets to fill the gap in their fleet.xc2xa0According to a report byxc2xa0POLITICO, the US is in discussion with Poland to potentially backfill its fleet of fighter planes if Warsaw decides to transfer its MiG-29s to Kyiv.xc2xa0

Poland had approached the White House last week after it weighed in onxc2xa0sending its warplanes to Ukraine amid Russia’s growing aggression.xc2xa0Warsaw asked the White House if the Biden administration could guarantee fighter jets to fill the gap to which the former replied that they would look into the matter.

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xe2x80x9cWe are working with the Poles on this issue and consulting with the rest of our NATO allies,xe2x80x9d a White House spokesperson told POLITICO. xe2x80x9cWe are also working on the capabilities we could provide to backfill Poland if it decided to transfer planes to Ukraine.xe2x80x9d

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Several European countries including Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia retain dozens of Russian-made aircraft in their inventories that could be transferred to Ukraine. A breakthrough in discussionsxc2xa0between Warsaw and Washington could lead to axc2xa0deal that couldxc2xa0see Kyiv get more fighter planes in its fleet. Notably, Zelenksyy has repeatedly demanded more aircraft from the world to combat Russia’s air superiority.xc2xa0

Poland’s move to transfer its Russian-made aircraft to Kyiv could potentially brew trouble between NATO and Russia. So far, NATO has maintained a defensive stance asserting that it did not seek to be a part of the conflict.xc2xa0Fearing an escalation, NATOxc2xa0also denied Ukraine’s request for a ‘no-fly zone’, which was met with a severe reaction from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky whoxc2xa0dubbed the organisation ‘weak’.

In a video address on Sunday, Zelenskyxc2xa0said that the world is strong enough to close ‘our skies’.xc2xa0Russia is preparing to bomb Odessa on the Black Sea coast, he cautioned, asserting that it was time for the world to exercise its power to close Ukraine’s skies for Russian rockets and aircraft.xc2xa0

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly warned that any country that sought to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered by his administration to have entered the armed conflict.xc2xa0