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Former President of Estonia urges the West to give Ukraine fighter jets

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Former Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid called on Western countries to send military jets to Ukraine as soon as possible in an interview with the German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel published on March 10.

"If Ukrainians say they need fighter planes, we must help them," she said.

Ukraine has been requesting fighters for months to defend its skies and maximize the effectiveness of its combined arms forces during a future counteroffensive.

However, multiple Western allies, including the U.S. and Germany, have ruled out sending planes in the near term, while debates about their provision are ongoing.

A similar dynamic played out last year when Ukraine tried to secure modern Western main battle tanks from international supporters — after months of hesitation, the West eventually authorized and pledged tank deliveries to Ukraine in late January.  

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The Kyiv Independent news desk

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