Russia Supplied Planes to U.S. Enemies during the Cold War. We Should Not Forget

U krainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that if NATO will not establish a no-fly zone over his country, then NATO should supply Ukraine with military aircraft to defend itself. He said in a news conference on Thursday, “If you don’t have the strength to provide a no-fly zone, then give me planes. Would that not be fair?”

NATO has balked at that idea for the moment, arguing that it would lead to direct conflict between NATO and Russia. Yet the experience of the Cold War demonstrates this is not at all the case, as Russia supplied planes, and even pilots, to armies in direct conflict with the U.S. in Korea in the early 1950s and to Syrian forces fighting Israel in the 1980s, without setting off a broader war in either of those cases. What’s more, Russian forces are more exposed than ever at the moment, meaning Ukraine air power could prove decisive and deal Russia’s invasion a lethal blow.

There are promising signs that the West is reconsidering its position, amid reports that the U.S. is in talks with Poland about Warsaw’s potentially sending warplanes to Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as much on Sunday, indicating that the U.S. is prepared to back Poland if it sends planes to Ukraine.

History should guide them. In the Korean War, American pilots reported hearing “North Korean” MiG-15 pilots speaking Russian. The suspicion that the Soviets not only supplied aircraft but the pilots to the North Koreans was later confirmed. Yet this did not result in a broader conflict with Russia, or the USSR, at the time. A couple decades later, the USSR supplied Egypt and Syria with massive quantities not just of defensive weapons, such as SAM batteries, but also offensive weapons, such as fighter jets, which both Arab countries used in their wars against Israel. As in Korea, Soviet pilots actually flew the aircraft in many cases. Yet this did not draw the USSR into direct conflict with Israel.

Russian president Vladimir Putin might be reminded of this history, should he threaten escalation over any such provision of aircraft. Indeed, the West should seriously consider Zelensky’s request, and soon, as many Russian forces find themselves in a vulnerable position, including in a 40-mile corridor north of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The stalled convoy’s exposure brings to mind the Iraqi forces in the first Gulf War, who were pummeled by U.S. jets in what became known as the “Highway of Death.” Zelensky doubtless is aware of the Russian forces’ situation as he calls for an immediate supply of military aircraft to his nation.

Whether to answer his call and actually supply planes that Ukraine can use to turn the tide on the ground in that country remains a difficult decision. But remembering that Russia gave far more than that to enable its allies’ aggression in past wars should inform the conversation on this pivotal request by the Ukrainians in their fight to repel the aggression by Putin’s forces.

John Ullyot was deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs and National Security Council spokesman under President Trump. Thomas D. Grant served as senior adviser for strategic planning in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, U.S. Department of State under President Trump. He is the author of Aggression Against Ukraine: Territory, Responsibility, and International Law (2015).