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| A Ukrainian air force MiG-29 while on a tour of North America in 1992. PHOTO VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS |
International Military - In the midst of Ukraine's lack of hope for MiG-29s from Poland, Russia has been aggressively destroying the country's military facilities.
As is well known, Kyiv has asked the US and NATO for help several times. One is to declare a no-fly zone over the country.
However, this request was rejected outright by the US and NATO. Similarly, Poland's offer to deliver MiG-29s to Ukraine.
The United States has rejected Poland's offer to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US air base in Germany. The US said the proposal raised "serious concern" for the entire NATO alliance.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the prospect of jets flying from a US-NATO base "into the airspace contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance". "We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies on this issue and the difficult logistical challenges, but we do not believe the proposal.
Poland can be defended," Kirby said in a statement. "It is not clear to us that there is a substantive reason for that," he added.
Following this, the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant in Lviv, more than 40 miles from the Polish border, was hit by a Russian missile on March 18.
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This facility, among others, handles repair work on the Ukrainian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jet. This attack was the first such attack inside Lviv, the main transshipment point for various types of foreign aid entering Ukraine.
“Several missiles hit the aircraft repair facility. The building was destroyed by the attack. Active work at the factory has been stopped in time, so there have been no fatalities,” said Mayor Andriy Sadovyi of Ukraine.
Russia fired six cruise missiles at the complex, two of which were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses, according to authorities. “The missile, which was fired from the Black Sea region, was partially shot down.
But four of them hit aircraft repair factories," said Maksym Kozytskyy, head of Lviv's military administration.
The Lviv State Aircraft Repair Factory is described as Ukraine's "leading aircraft maintenance company" on its website version.
The facility, which is run by Ukraine's state-owned defense business, is primarily used to service MiG-29 fighter jets.