The Central European, West Slavic countries of Poland and Slovakia—both members of the Visegrád Group—have pledged to send Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, marking yet another serious escalation in the intensifying armed conflict which has now been raging for over a year.
The countries’ decision comes as the Ukrainian state has, for quite some time now, been on a campaign asking Washington and its subordinate allies to supply it with modern fighter jets, most especially the U.S.-made F-16 and F-15 aircraft, but also the Swedish-made Gripens, the French-made Rafales, and others, the U.S.-based newspaper Defense News reports.
Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced that his center-right coalition government voted unanimously to supply 13 MiG warplanes, which it no longer uses, to Kyiv on Friday, March 17th during a press conference. The official declaration came hours after Poland’s national-conservative government, led solely by the Law & Justice (PiS) party, came forward with a similar announcement. Slovakia has become the second NATO country to make the move; Poland, the first.
“I called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the government’s decision to send 13 MiGs,” the Slovakian prime minister began in a post to social media. “We support the brave people of Ukraine who fight against Russian aggression. They need tools to defend their homeland—without that, there will be neither peace nor justice. I’ve accepted his invitation to visit Ukraine soon.”
“Promises must be kept and when [President] Zelensky asked for more weapons including fighter jets, I said we’ll do our best. I’m glad others are doing the same. Military aid to ensure Ukraine can defend itself and entire Europe against Russia,” Heger added.
A day earlier, on Thursday, March 16th, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that his country would send four MiG-29 fighter jets—received from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR)—to give to Ukraine “in the next few days” after maintenance was completed.
“When it comes to the MiG-29 aircraft, which are still operating in the defense of Polish airspace, a decision … taken at the highest levels, we can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine,” Duda said.
Meanwhile, a few Ukrainian pilots have traveled to the United States and the United Kingdom. The UK announced last month that training pilots would be the “first step” in a process that would end with the sending of jets. Previously, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that “nothing is off the table” concerning the provision of military assistance to Ukraine.
The U.S., for their part, have welcomed two Ukrainian pilots to the Air National Guard base in Tucson, Arizona to gauge their flying abilities. The pilots have so far not been allowed to operate F-16s.
The Russian Federation has condemned the plan to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, vowing to destroy them once they enter the theater of war. Responding to the announcements made by Poland and Slovakia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed the fleet of fighter jets would not have any effect on the outcome of the so-called “special military operation,” and added that new weapons introduced to the battlefield would only “bring additional woes for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.”
“Of course, during the special military operation, all this equipment will be subject to destruction,” Peskov said.
