IRIA News

Poland has announced that it will be sending Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days. Following Poland’s decision, Slovakia also revealed its plans to send 13 MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.

Polish President Andrej Duda said that his country is willing to send about a dozen fighter jets to Ukraine. “When it comes to the MiG-29 aircraft, which are still operating in defense of Polish airspace, a decision has been taken at the highest levels, we can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine,” Duda said.

Warsaw would be delivering four MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv in full working order. According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the deliveries of MiG-29 aircraft could be made “in four to six weeks”.

Last week, Poland pushed its western allies and NATO partners to send warplanes to Ukraine for its fight against Russia’s advances. This week, Warsaw took the lead among its NATO allies to become the first country to announce warplanes delivery for Ukraine. The Polish president said that the fighter jets will be handed over to Kyiv soon after being serviced for delivery.

A day after Poland stated that it would be sending aircraft to Kyiv, Slovakia announced that it would be donating 13 of its MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine, becoming the second country to provide Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine.

Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger said that his country approved sending 13 MiG-29s to Ukraine. He wrote on Twitter that military aid is key to ensuring Ukraine can defend itself and entire Europe against Russia.

I call @ZelenskyyUa about 🇸🇰 gov. decision to send 13 MiGs. We support brave people of #Ukraine who fight against #RussianAggression. They need tools to defend their homeland – without that there will be neither #peace nor #justice. I’ve accepted his invitation to visit 🇺🇦 soon. pic.twitter.com/ftsdBeYEmY

— Eduard Heger (@eduardheger) March 17, 2023

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Heger said that “Promises must be kept and when [Ukrainian President] Zelenskyy asked for more weapons including fighter jets, I said we’ll do our best”.

Poland is set to receive at least 48 new FA-50 jets from South Korea that it purchased in a landmark deal worth $13.7 billion. Warsaw plans to replace its older MiG-29 jets with new South Korean FA-50 and American-made fighter jets. According to the Wall Street Journal report, the U.S. is considering providing Poland with F-16 fighter jets if it transfers some of its old Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine.

An announcement to send older MiG-29s to Ukraine is not a surprising move from Warsaw. Poland is one of the most vocal NATO allies against Russia’s advances in Ukraine. Although Russia has a deep influence on many of Poland’s political and social circles, the current leadership of Poland deems Moscow as the biggest threat to its sovereignty.

Washington responded to Duda’s announcement by stating that sending warplanes to Ukraine is Poland’s “sovereign decision” and it will not affect the White House’s decision-making regarding Ukraine’s request to acquire F-16 fighter jets.

Top official from the U.S. National Security Council John Kirby said that “It doesn’t change our calculus concerning F-16s,” He stated that “these are sovereign decisions for any country to make and we respect those sovereign decisions. They get to determine not only what they are going to give but how they’re going to characterize it.” He added that “I wouldn’t think it’s our place to characterize Poland’s decision one way or another,” Kirby said, declining to endorse the decision.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading to attain fighter jets from its allies to fight Russia’s recent advances. During his trip to Europe and the U.S., Zelenskyy repeatedly asked his allies and partners to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, however, several countries including UK, Germany, and the U.S. have been skeptical about providing fighter jets to Ukraine due to the complicated logistics and the fear of escalation.