Warsaw could deliver a number of MiG-29s to Kyiv within weeks, Polish PM says
Poland is ready to supply several Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Tuesday. Warsaw had previously insisted that it would only supply fighter jets to kyiv as part of an international coalition.
Speaking at a press conference, Morawiecki said the process could take between four and six weeks as Western states take a cautious approach to transferring fighter jets to Ukraine.
Warsaw will be joined by Slovakia in delivering fighter jets to Kiev after Defense Minister Jarolslav Nad agreed last week to participate in a joint process with Poland involving the supply of MiG-29 jets. The two NATO states are now calling on other members of the bloc to join the initiative.
Poland currently has a total of 28 MiG-29 aircraft in active service, which it has gradually replaced with American and South Korean-made fighters. However, it is unclear how many Soviet-era aircraft will be supplied to Ukraine.
While Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country would donate its entire fleet of MiG-29s, the head of the president’s office Pawel Szrot said last week that “As for the transfer of planes by Poland, it will not be a large number.” He added that the shipment would be “certainly not” be as large as the number of tanks that have been supplied, or even the number of Leopard tanks, of which Warsaw has so far supplied 14.
Nad, meanwhile, told The Associated Press that Slovakia is considering transferring ten of its 11 MiG-29s, with the last going to a museum.
The Ukrainian armed forces have been using the Soviet-made planes for decades, so its pilots are very familiar with the platform and could use the planes immediately after receiving them.
kyiv has repeatedly requested Soviet and Western-made aircraft from its NATO backers. Although no country has yet responded to these requests, the United Kingdom announced last month that it would train Ukrainian pilots in “sophisticated fighter aircraft to NATO standards”, and the United States would assess the suitability of Ukrainian pilots for training on US-made F-16 fighter jets.
Russia has argued that the influx of Western weapons into Ukraine will only prolong the conflict without changing the outcome. The supply of fighter aircraft in particular is a “Red line” which would place the West “the war against Russia” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned two weeks ago.
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