The US general calls on the West to send fighters to Ukraine as soon as possible

What happened? Commander-in-Chief of the California National Guard David Baldwin called on American and other Western officials to consider handing over the fighter jets to Ukraine as soon as possible.

Source. Politico reports about it.

Details. “MiGs are the best immediate solution to support the Ukrainians, but U.S. or western fighters are options that should be explored as soon as possible,” Baldwin said.

Earlier, he told reporters that US military officials were working with Ukrainian counterparts on Kyiv's request to Western countries for fighter jets to help repel russian enemies.

“There is a lot of goodness in them going to MiGs because they are already trained in that, but if they are going to use Western-type aircraft, it’s a discussion about numbers and types and capabilities of aircraft that may be available,” Baldwin said.

Members of the California National Guard have a longstanding relationship with the Ukrainian military. Guardsmen have been training with their Ukrainian counterparts in Eastern Europe under a state partnership since the 1990s.

Since russia invaded Ukraine in February, Guard members have also been helping to craft Kyiv’s requests to the Pentagon for weapons to use against russian forces, Baldwin said.

Baldwin noted that members of the California Guard, including pilots, communicate daily with Ukrainian soldiers and pilots to share tactics and ideas.

“We are steering them toward those MiGs first,” there is also an “over-the-horizon” discussion of what aircraft will be needed in the future, Baldwin said.

“In the midterm, over the course of the next six months to the year and then the long term: What’s in the realm of possibility for systems that would be effective, available and affordable for them?” he said.