Bloomberg: NATO eyes transferring MiG-29, F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

Bloomberg Opinion Columnist James Stavridis has said that leaders in NATO capitals are revisiting an idea that was discarded in the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Stavridis noted that the idea includes providing either MiG-29 Soviet-era fighters (the Poles have offered to transfer them to the Ukrainians) or even US surplus F-16s, a simple-to-learn multi-role fighter, adding that without such measures, the air war will continue to go in favour of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.

With a land war favouring Ukraine and a brutal air war favouring Russia, the West’s best option will be to significantly increase its assistance to Ukraine on the air war side of the conflict.

The assistance may include increased numbers of high-end air-to-surface missile systems like the superb Iron Dome (developed jointly by the US and Israel), NATO Patriot batteries (that are also going along the Polish border), and possibly tactical fighters.

“Giving the Ukrainians more tools to close their own skies may be the key to forcing the Russians to ultimately negotiate, perhaps as soon as early spring, given the success Zelenskyy and his military have achieved on the ground.”