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Discussions on the transfer of Western fighter jets to Ukraine continue, but none of the NATO countries are ready to take the initiative. US President Joe Biden once again claimed that the US will not supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. Despite the fact that the discussion on this issue intensified after the decision to transfer tanks to Ukraine. Some NATO member countries already know the mood swing of their American patrons and avoid any forceful language in their speeches. Poland is ready to transfer its F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine only in “full coordination” with NATO countries, the Polish Prime Minister claimed. In his turn, French President Macron warned that Paris “initially excludes nothing.” Thus, the transfer of combat aircraft to Ukraine is also possible. Macron also voiced in advance some conditions for Kiev. In particular, weapons should not be used for strikes on the territory of Russia, and the supplies should not reduce the defense capability to France. Meanwhile, US representatives are already preparing the public opinion for any possible supplies. Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael Mcfaul suggested that Zelensky could sign a commitment to not use F-16 fighters for strikes on targets inside Russian territory. It is not clear what an effect such a piece of paper would have during the confrontation between Russia and NATO. In fact, any discussions on the supply of fighter jets to Ukraine are still nothing but talks. After all, the “European partners” are just waiting for an order from the United States. Washington is apparently in no hurry to escalate the situation further. They still need to deliver the promised Leopard and Abrams tanks to Ukraine. The notorious tanks are only a small part of all the military supplies that are continuously moving to Ukraine; but they became an important political reason for NATO to demonstrate its alleged cohesion and generosity. In Russia, they respectively responded to the upcoming arrival of German and American tanks on the Donbass front lines with their own media campaign. Many public and private figures announced generous rewards for captured and destroyed tanks. On January 29, a famous Russian actor, on behalf of “some representatives of a large Russian business”, announced a prize of 10 million rubles for each Abrams destroyed. A couple of days ago, the Russian company FORES announced a reward of 5 million rubles for the first destroyed or captured American M1 Abrams or German Leopard 2. The initiative was also supported by government agencies. The governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory will pay to fellow countrymen 3 million rubles for the seizure and 1 million rubles for the destruction of the German Leopard tank of any modification. US Abrams tanks are cheaper — 1.5 million for the capture and 500 thousand rubles for the destruction. These are just some of the announced prizes. The hunt begins, and the stakes are rising.
