Poland’s move to become the first country to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine does not change the US decision not to send its own fighter jets to Kiev, the White House said Thursday.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters today that Poland’s decision to send its Soviet-designed fighter jets “doesn’t change our calculation regarding the F16,” referring to the US-built fighter jet.
He explained that Poland’s step “has no impact, nothing changes”.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said earlier today that the country would send four of the fighter jets to Ukraine “within the next few weeks”, while about a dozen would be sent to Kiev for maintenance.
Poland is the first NATO member to agree to Kiev’s increasingly urgent demands for fighter jets in the fight against Russia.
Poland will send Soviet-built MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days, the president said today, becoming the first NATO member to meet Kiev’s increasingly urgent demands for fighter jets to fight Russia.
President Andrzej Duda said Poland would send four of the fighter jets (file photo) to Ukraine “within minutes” while another 15 would be sent for maintenance in the coming weeks.
Polish President Duda said today: “If I remember correctly, we will initially transfer four fully operational aircraft to Ukraine in the next few days.
“Additional aircraft are currently in preparation, undergoing maintenance and are expected to be handed over one at a time.”
“So we can say that we will send these MiGs to Ukraine,” he said, adding that Poland currently has a dozen MiG aircraft inherited from the former German Democratic Republic.
“These MiGs are still in service with the Polish Air Force. They are in their last years of operation, but mostly still work,” Duda said.
The MiG-29s will help Ukraine destroy Russian aerial targets within radar coverage limits, as well as ground targets with unguided missiles. The aircraft also features large wing extensions that make it highly maneuverable and controllable at subsonic speeds.
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Warsaw, one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, has played a leading role in convincing sometimes reluctant allies to supply Kiev with heavy weapons.
Duda did not say whether other European countries would take the same step, although Slovakia said it would send its decommissioned MiGs to Ukraine to offset losses from Kiev’s current stocks.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said earlier on Thursday that Poland wants to transfer MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine “as part of a larger coalition of countries”.
When asked about the countries in this coalition, Blaszczak mentioned Slovakia but added: “Of course we are open to others.”
“We definitely want to carry out our activities within the framework of a coalition,” he added.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said deliveries could be made within four to six weeks.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said on Wednesday that some other countries with MiGs had also committed to Kiev, but he did not name them.
Ukraine’s air force has a fleet of aging Soviet-era fighter jets that rolled off the assembly line more than 31 years ago, before Kiev declared independence. The fighters are used for intercept missions and to attack Russian positions.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges Western backers to share fighter jets, NATO allies have expressed reluctance.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion last February, Ukraine had a few dozen MiG-29s it inherited during the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it is unclear how many of these are still in service after more than a year of combat.
Debate over supplying fighter jets to non-NATO country Ukraine began more than a year ago, but NATO has been wary of escalating the war.
The Dutch foreign minister, Wopke Hoekstra, said in January that he was looking into the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Netherlands has about 40 US F-16s, while seven other European NATO countries fly the jets, including Poland and Norway.
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki also said Tuesday that Warsaw is considering supplying US-made F-16 fighter jets, which would give Ukrainians a qualitative advantage over the Russians.
The Biden administration must first approve these third-party transfers, in which a country re-exports its US aircraft to Ukraine to defend its airspace against Russian attacks.
Britain, one of Kiev’s staunchest supporters and military suppliers, remains reluctant to send Typhoon and F-35 jets to Ukraine because it would take months or even years to train pilots accustomed to Soviet-era fighter planes. Experts say they are not the most effective jets for the battlefield either.
Members of the Ukrainian special forces gather in the forests near Bakhmut in the Donbass region on March 15.
A Ukrainian special forces member checks and prepares his weapon in the forest near Bakhmut in the Donbass region on March 15
The Ukrainian Air Force, on the other hand, is familiar with MiG-29s, so they were able to use the aircraft immediately.
Duda announced this during a joint press conference in Warsaw with visiting Czech President Petr Pavel.
Duda said Poland has about 10-20 MiG 29 jets. He added that the Polish Air Force will replace the planes it is giving to Ukraine with South Korean-made FA-50 fighter jets and US-made F-35s.
Poland also became the first NATO country last month to hand over German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Earlier this year, Washington said it would send 31 of its fast M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, while Berlin would initially provide at least 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow other NATO countries to send their own tanks to Kiev.
Britain was the first NATO country to announce that it would send 14 next-generation main battle tanks to Ukraine in the form of the Challenger 2 tanks.
Poland is an important ally in the Ukraine crisis. It is home to thousands of US troops and is taking in more people fleeing the war in Ukraine than any other country amid Europe’s biggest refugee crisis in decades.
It has endured centuries of Russian invasion and occupation, and despite being a member of NATO, it still fears Russia.
It comes as Russia endured a month-long rush to capture the small Ukrainian town of Bakhmut in what would be its first meaningful victory in more than half a year.
The Russian-installed leader of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region said Thursday that the situation around the now-destroyed city remains “complex and difficult” as Kiev defiantly refuses to withdraw its troops.
“That is to say, we see no premise that the enemy will simply withdraw units,” Denis Pushilin said in an interview on state television.
Zelenskyj said this week that his military commander recommended reinforcing Bakhmut.
Kiev appeared to be preparing to leave the city last month, but has since opted to defend the city as it exhausts the Russian shock force there to pave the way for its own counterattack.
In its Daily Intelligence Update on the war in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that Russian efforts to take the town of Vuhledar, about 150 km southwest of Bakhmut, were “almost certainly delayed” after repeated, very costly failed attacks in the last three months.
Ukrainian soldiers walk down a street in the area of the heaviest fighting with Russian invaders in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Wednesday
North of Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops fought an alleged Russian attempt to stage a massive pincer movement in a bombed-out village near the city of Kreminna.
“Russians are trying to adapt in real time,” said a member of a drone unit named Zara. “It creates big problems for us because we have to think several steps ahead – how to complete the mission and not let the enemy know how we did it.”
The war has devastated Ukrainian cities, killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes. It also turned the global economy on its head, sending energy and food prices soaring.
President Vladimir Putin met with members of Russia’s business elite on Thursday for the first time since the invasion, urging them to invest in their country to help it withstand what he called the West’s “sanctions war”.
Many attendees are themselves under Western sanctions over what Putin calls Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
