Without waiting for NATO allies, Poland has committed to sending four MiG-29 fighters from its reserves to kyiv, hinting that more deliveries could follow. The shipment of aircraft is not in the US plans.
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Ukraine asked and Warsaw agreed, without waiting for NATO. After being the first country to send Leopard-2 tanks to kyiv, Poland has now become the first nation in the Atlantic Alliance to commit to sending the much-desired fighter jets.
This Wednesday the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, announced that the country will transfer four MIG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. The official explained that Soviet fighter jets are functional and will be delivered “in the next few days”.
“When we talk about the MiG-29 fighters, which are operating in the defense of Polish airspace, a decision was made at the highest level. We can say with confidence that we are going to send the Mig to Ukraine.“said the Polish leader during a press conference. “In the next few days we are going to deliver, as far as I know, four planes to Ukraine that are in perfect working order (…). The rest are preparing,” he added, suggesting that more deliveries should follow.
The minister explained that Poland has a small fleet of around 20 combat aircraft, inherited from stocks of arms from East Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The current Polish arsenal will now be replaced with the delivery of FA-50 fighter jets from South Korea and F-35 from the United States.
The Polish government had already advanced, at the beginning of the week, that a coalition of countries was willing to send their MiG-29 to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had already signaled the possibility of Warsaw handing over its fighter jets in the next four to six weeks.
Neighboring Poland has been one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters since the start of the war, seizing the initiative and persuade some more hesitant allies to supply kyiv with heavy weapons.
For several months, the Ukrainian authorities have insisted on the request for fighter jets. “The sooner we have fighter jets, the more lives we can save,” the Defense Minister of Ukraine said on Wednesday after the 10th meeting of the Ramstein-format Contact Group for Defense of Ukraine.
So far Slovakia, Finland and the Netherlands they said they would consider providing the models they have available. United Kingdom and United States refused to provide its Typhoon and F-16alleging, namely, that the team requires a long training period and launch structures.
The Polish decision to go ahead with sending the fighters, without waiting for a decision on the remaining NATO allies, could change the dynamics within the military alliance. It may eventually lead other members to follow suit, but it may also displease countries that oppose further involvement of the transatlantic alliance in the war, such as Hungary.
The United States stands firm and guarantee that sending combat aircraft to Ukraine is not in the plans. The White House National Security Council spokesman said Poland’s decision to send fighter jets to kyiv will not influence President Joe Biden to do the same. “These are decisions that each country makes for itself. And we respect those sovereign decisions,” John Kirby said during a press conference.
Ukraine is expected to push forward with a counteroffensive in the spring, seeking to build a well-equipped force with the arrival of Western-trained recruits and new modern equipment. However, the more than twelve months of war have caused casualties in the units and the loss of experienced combatants.
Source: Observadora
