POZNAN, Poland — A Polish air force MiG-29 taxis in with parachute in tow after finishing a mission here. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. John E. Lasky)
Poland is ready to provide its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine if the United States leads a wider coalition for transfers of warplanes to the country, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on February 18, according to Reuters.
“Today we can talk about transferring our MiG [fighter jets] as part of a wider coalition, and we are ready for that,” Morawiecki said. “Poland can only be a part of a much larger coalition here, a coalition with the United States as a leader.”
The Polish Air Force operates 23 MiG-29A fighter jets, and another six UB trainers. Some of the Soviet-era fighter jets were bought from the Czech Republic and Germany after the end of the Cold War. However, non of them saw any significant upgrade.
Morawiecki’s remarks came just a day after Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with Sky News that modern fighter jets should be sent to Ukraine.
“They’ll also need modern planes, fighter jets in the future. Everything that will allow them to have a technological upper hand over the Russian armed forces is valuable right now,” Duda told the news network.
The Polish president also said that Polish MiG-29 fighter jets could be sent earlier, as these are aircraft that Ukrainian pilots can operate, given this is already the sort of equipment they fly.
“So donating that equipment to Ukraine in the first place will already provide support to Ukraine because they will counterbalance the Russians to a certain degree,” Duda said.
Poland has been reportedly supplying the Ukrainian Air Force with spare parts and ammunition for its own MiG-29s.The country first expressed its willingness to supply its Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine in the early months of the Russian special military operation.
Efforts to re-equip the Ukrainian Air Force gained momentum recently. Earlier this month, Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger said that his country is ready to supply its ten upgraded MiG-29AS/UBS to Ukraine once Kiev has officially asked for the fighter jets.
Supplying Kiev with fighter jets will help keep the Ukrainian Air Force operational. However, the Russian Aerospace Forces will likely maintain the upper hand over the special military operation zone thanks to its strong capabilities and vast resources.
