MiG 29 fighter jet
MiG 29 fighter jetiStock

The Pentagon on Tuesday rejected a surprise announcement from Poland that it would give the United States its MiG-29 fighter jets for use by Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Poland's declaration that it intended to deliver the 28 jets to the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany raised the concerning prospect of warplanes departing from a US and NATO base to fly into airspace contested with Russia in the Ukraine conflict.

"We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland´s proposal is a tenable one," Kirby said in a statement quoted by AP.

The proposed gift of more warplanes would be a morale booster for Ukrainians but also raises the risk of the war expanding beyond Ukraine.

According to AP, White House officials were blindsided by the Polish government announcement on the MiGs. The proposal did not come up during talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he was recently in Poland, according to a US official familiar with the talks.

The US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said White House officials did not think the proposal would easily solve the logistical challenges of providing aircraft to Ukraine.

The Polish Foreign Ministry had announced the plan in a statement, which said the jets would be delivered to Ramstein free of charge.

It also appealed to other owners of MIG-29 jets to follow suit.