Poland and Slovakia announced that they will be donating MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming the first two nations to provide aircraft to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began.
According to Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, the country will be sending four MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine in the next few days.
“When it comes to the MiG-29 aircraft, which are still operating in the defense of Polish airspace, a decision has been taken at the highest levels, we can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine,” Polish President Duda said.
Poland would be delivering MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in full working order. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that deliveries of MiG-29 jets could be made “in four to six weeks”.
Following Poland’s decision to send fighter jets, Slovakia also announced that it would be donating 13 of its MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine. Slovakia became the second country that vowed to provide Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine.
#Slovak gov. just approved sending 13 #MiG29s to #Ukraine! Promises must be kept&when @ZelenskyyUa asked for more #weapons incl. fighter jets, I said we’ll do our best. Glad others’re doing the same. #Military aid’s🔑to ensure🇺🇦can defend itself&the entire #Europe against #Russia
— Eduard Heger (@eduardheger) March 17, 2023
Poland has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and also urging European allies to intensify political and military support for Kyiv. In February 2023, Poland sent the batch of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, while earlier this month Warsaw vowed to send the remaining 10 Leopard 2 tanks.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the U.S. is considering providing Poland with its F-16 fighter jets if it transfers some of its old Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine.
Last year in March, Poland offered to send all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via U.S. air base in Germany, however, back then the United States rejected the proposal, stating its concerns that flying fighter jets from a U.S.-NATO base “into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance”.
