- A Pentagon spokesperson said it has sent spare parts and full warplanes to Ukraine.
- But Ukraine’s air force said it had only received the spare parts.
- Ukraine has been asking Western allies to send warplanes for weeks.
Ukraine said it had only received spare parts for fighter planes despite the Pentagon’s saying it had sent both spares and full aircraft to the country.
“Ukraine did not receive new planes from partners!” the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Wednesday Facebook post.
It said, however, that it had received spare plane parts and components “to restore and repair the fleet of aircraft that are on the Air Force aviation armament, which will allow to put more equipment into service.”
The statement came a day after Department of Defense Press Secretary John F. Kirby told reporters that the Pentagon was sending both spare components and full aircraft to Ukraine.
“I would just say without getting into what other nations are providing that [Ukraine] have received additional platforms and parts to be able to increase their fleet size — their aircraft fleet size. Platforms and parts,” he said.
When asked what he meant by “platforms,” Kirby said: “Platform is an airplane in this case. They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them, you know, get more aircraft in the air.”
Kirby declined to specify the number or type of aircraft delivered to the Ukrainian military.
The Department of Defense declined to comment to Insider. The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Last week President Joe Biden announced an $800 million military aid package for Ukraine that included artillery rounds and armored personnel carriers. He is expected to announce another aid package later this week, NBC News reported.
Ukraine has been asking Western allies to send warplanes for weeks. Russia launched a full invasion of the country on February 24.
In a speech on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war would have been over if Ukraine was given more supplies by its allies.
“If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war,” he said.