Poland to supply Ukraine with more MiG-29s

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed on April 13 that Poland would supply Ukraine with more MiG-29 fighter jets, the Polish Press Agency reported.

Morawiecki said that "one more batch" of the Soviet-era aircraft would be headed to Ukraine. He said that the Polish military no longer needed the MiG-29s given that they possessed modern aircraft and were also expecting the delivery of U.S.-made F-35 jets in "the coming years," the Polish Press Agency wrote.

The German government approved on April 13 Poland's request to give Ukraine MiG-29 fighter jets that had originally belonged to the East German air force before reunification.

Since Germany sold the jets to Warsaw in 2002, Berlin's permission must be obtained for the transfer, just as with any other German-made arms, including Leopard 2 tanks.

Poland has already sent eight of its own MiG-29 jets to Ukraine.

Unlike Western jets, the Soviet-built MiGs, which Ukraine already operates, can be put into service quickly without months of flying and logistics training.

Ukraine has been making appeals to its allies for more modern fighter jets, particularly the U.S.-built F-16, saying they are needed to support offensive operations and defend against Russian missile and guided bomb attacks.

Russia’s new guided bombs pose increasingly serious threat to Ukraine

Still unable to achieve air supremacy, Russia is nevertheless finding ways to threaten Ukraine from the sky. Early this year, Russia introduced guided bombs — essentially, the regular gravity bombs modified to be dropped by multirole fighter-bombers from safe distances and deal precise and very dam…

Kyiv IndependentIllia Ponomarenko

Although several countries, such as the U.K. and the Netherlands, have not publicly ruled out the possibility of making such deliveries, as of now, no country has committed to providing Western-built combat aircraft.

Since the start of Russia's all-out war, Poland has repeatedly pledged crucial military aid to Ukraine, including being the first country to pledge fighter jets.

In regards to other allies, Morawiecki expressed confidence that allies such as Germany and France were committed to Ukraine's victory.

"But to what extent they are able to mobilize their financial resources, weapons, and diplomacy to support Ukraine, I am not sure of that," Morawiecki said, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency.

Editorial: Arming Ukraine won’t escalate war. Reluctance to do so will

First it was the tanks, now it’s the fighter jets. As Ukraine braces for another possible major Russian offensive in the upcoming weeks, Western leaders are yet again coming up with a variety of excuses why this time, they cannot justify supplying F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent