Poland mulls sending additional 6-8 MiG-29 jets to Ukraine
Poland could provide Ukraine with between six and eight MiG-29 fighter jets that are scheduled for retirement this month, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said in an interview with the TVN24 news channel on Dec. 14.
"They could either end up in a museum, be sold for scrap, or be sent to Ukraine and used to kill our enemies," Tomczyk said, defending the move.
The comments come after Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz floated the idea of transferring Warsaw's remaining Soviet-designed MiG-29s to Kyiv in exchange for Ukraine's drone and anti-drone technology.
The issue could be discussed during President Volodymyr Zelensky's planned visit to Poland on Dec. 19, Kosiniak-Kamysz noted.
According to Tomczyk, the jets are to be decommissioned by the end of December, and, according to the law, they cannot be used by the Polish Armed Forces thereafter.
The General Staff of Poland's Armed Forces confirmed on Dec. 10 that talks on transferring remaining Polish MiGs to Ukraine are ongoing, though Polish President Karol Nawrocki said a day later he had not been informed about the discussions.
Warsaw confirmed transferring 14 MiG-29 jets to Ukraine in the spring of 2023, being the first country to supply Kyiv with warplanes amid Russia's all-out invasion.
Ukraine's Air Force was also bolstered by additional MiG-29 jets provided by Slovakia the same year, as well as F-16 jets from the Netherlands and Denmark in 2024.
Poland has been a key ally of Ukraine during the full-scale war, providing significant military aid and serving as a hub for defense assistance flowing to the war-torn country.
