Denmark says West may decide on fighter jets for Ukraine 'before summer'
Acting Defense Minister of Denmark Troels Lund Poulsen said on April 11 that the West could make a decision on the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine "before the summer" following the delivery of MiG-29 aircraft from Poland and Slovakia.
Discussions take time, as countries must act together, but a solution remains achievable "in the short term," said the minister, according to the AFP, cited by Le Figaro.
"Denmark is not going to do this alone," added Poulsen. "We will have to do this with several countries. And we will also have to have a dialogue with the Americans on this."
Slovakia and Poland have already delivered four MiG-29 jets each to Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda said on April 5 that his country had prepared to transfer four more and was preparing six more that "can be transferred quite soon," bringing the total number pledged to Kyiv to 14.
Duda also suggested that in the future, his country might provide its entire fleet of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine once the Polish Air Force acquires new aircraft to offset the loss.
While acknowledging the MiG-29 transfer as a major help, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said that the Soviet-era fighters are "unlikely to be a game-changer at the front."
Ukraine is seeking to acquire more advanced Western jets, such as the American-made F-16s, but no country has pledged to deliver those yet.
Oleg Sukhov
