U.S. sends military signal to Russia with discreet jet landings in Poland
In the last week of March, eight transport jumbo jets from the USA and Germany landed at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport. Experts interviewed by PAP believe this is a signal from Washington intended to push Putin toward negotiations and prepare for a potential Russian offensive. "The honeymoon in US-Russian negotiations is over," they assess.
The report appeared on the platform X on the OSINTtechnical account, an analytical group monitoring the Ukrainian-Russian war using open sources. Specialists relied on data from the FlightRadar24 service, which shows that a total of eight flights were carried out in the last week of March using civilian Boeing 747s in the transport version. All planes took off from four military bases in the USA and from Ramstein in Germany, with their destination being Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport.
Deliveries of American military equipment, despite their previous freeze, may be related to Washington's new strategy.
As Dr. habil. Maciej Milczanowski, a security expert from the University of Rzeszów, highlighted in an interview with PAP, "Donald Trump is frustrated with Russia, as Ms. Leavitt said."
His administration is gradually and methodically realizing that it doesn't work by simply calling Putin and proposing 'let's reset, but end this war,' the expert believes.
Therefore, Washington is sending a signal to Moscow through intensive arms transports - seemingly discreet, but not so discreet as to go unnoticed.
Reports like those about jumbo jets carrying military supplies to Rzeszów may seem like uncontrolled leaks, but they are actually deliberate releases by the American administration. It's a signal that if Russia, after this "back-patting," does not agree to peace, then the Americans will "hit hard" with aid to Ukraine. The White House is aware that such increased activity will not go unnoticed, even by the Kremlin. In my opinion, this is an attempt to use a "lever" to influence Moscow to make decisions expected by Trump," Milczanowski argued.
"Putin ready for peace on his terms"
Grzegorz Kuczyński, a journalist and analyst specializing in issues related to Russia, interprets it similarly. He emphasized that currently, no large NATO exercises with American participation are taking place. Therefore, this context of the Ukrainian-Russian war suggests itself.
The honeymoon in US-Russian negotiations is over. There are reports of unofficial information leaks indicating that Putin is ready for peace, but only on his terms. Reports about arms transports should be considered a similar move, only from the American side," the PAP source explained.
He emphasizes that such an action is not particularly surprising. "Even before Trump became president, his advisers, such as Keith Kellogg, mentioned that they would influence Ukraine by withholding arms supplies, while towards Russia, they would drastically increase aid for Ukraine."
What was on board the American planes?
The purpose of the loads arriving from American military bases to Rzeszów remains unclear. According to Kuczyński, the armament will remain in Poland for now, to be swiftly transferred to the war zone if necessary.
"Trump is still counting on concessions, but nothing at present indicates that - Russia is not only maintaining pressure on the front, but there are reports of plans to increase it and prepare for something serious," said the PAP source. He emphasized that the Trump administration doesn't like to discuss military aid to Ukraine openly. "As we remember, it was also frozen at one point. Hence the discreet actions, which the Russian side certainly notices."
The exact contents of the civilian jumbo jets used by Washington remain unknown. "We are probably not talking about heavy equipment. I suspect there might have been ammunition for systems available to the Ukrainians, which they have already depleted, such as ATACAMS missiles. Even short-term but intensive use of them, along with target coordinates at the rear of the front, such as logistics hubs - provided by American intelligence, could effectively prevent a predicted Russian offensive," Kuczyński assessed.
"Let's remember that regardless of talks with Kyiv or Moscow, the Americans are not interested in Russia gaining any decisive advantage on the front," he added.
