Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (IHA Photo)
Poland's government says NATO should be bolder and if the western defence alliance decided to send fighter jets to Ukraine, Warsaw would vote in favour of that, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told French broadcaster LCI on Thursday.
He said supporters of Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia nearly a year ago, should not fear sending Kiev missile and air defence batteries to deploy on its entire territory and not just in the west, in Kiev and on the front lines.
The Polish official did not propose sending the aircraft, saying that would have to be a NATO decision, but his country would back such a move.
Shortly after the U.S. and German governments decided on Wednesday to send sophisticated tanks to Ukraine, the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked them - but then asked for fighter jets, long-range missiles and more artillery.
Poland had already exerted considerable pressure on Germany in the discussion about the battle tank deliveries. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has categorically ruled out the delivery of combat aircraft or even the deployment of ground troops to Ukraine.
Poland has a long and often tortured history with Russia. During WW II, Russia, then the Soviet Union, cut a deal with Nazi Germany which resulted in the division of Poland into two spheres of influence. After the war, the Soviet Union took control of much of eastern Europe, including Poland.
