' High risk': US to oppose any plans to provide MiG fighter jets to Ukraine

The Pentagon on Wednesday (local time) said it would oppose any plans to provide MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, calling it "high-risk".

"We do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force at this time and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody either," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said.

He also said: "We believe the best way to support the Ukrainian defence is by providing them with the weapons and assistance that they need most to defeat Russian aggression, in particular, anti-armour and air defence."

"We assess that adding aircraft to the Ukrainian inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Air Force. Therefore, we believe that the gain from transferring those MiG-29s is low," he added.

Addressing media, Kirby said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Polish counterpart and said that the US is pursuing other options that would provide more critical military needs to Ukraine such as air defense and anti-armor weapons systems.

"As for the Patriot missiles, yes, this is a temporary deployment to Poland, given the circumstances that we're in. These Patriot batteries had already been deployed in Germany, and I suspect that at the appropriate time they'll go back there," Kirby said during a press briefing.

The US is currently having discussions with several countries about surface-to-air missiles, which he said the Ukrainians are more trained and more equipped to operate.

At least 516 civilians have been killed and 908 others injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war against its neighbour on February 24, according to UN figures, with the real toll, feared to be higher.

More than 2.1 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency.