Foreign News
Ukraine Invasion: Poland Becomes First NATO Country To Transfer Fighter Jets To Ukraine
The Ukrainian government will soon receive Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets, according to Poland President Andrzej Duda.
On March 16, Duda announced that Poland’s air force would switch out the aircraft it provides to Kiev for FA-50 and F-35 aircraft built in South Korea and the United States, respectively.
As Kiev requests airplanes to combat Russian forces, Poland would become the first NATO member to deliver the fighter jets after the transfer.
“In the coming days we will first transfer, if I remember correctly, four fully operational planes to Ukraine,” Duda told a news conference in Warsaw.
Kyiv has been asking for fighter jets to beef up its air power as the war enter its second year, but there’s no sign yet that the United States or the UK will send warplanes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in surprise visits last month to the UK, France and Brussels, home to the European Union institutions, made appeals for powerful military equipment.
He told the British Parliament to give Kyiv “wings for freedom” by sending combat aircraft to help turn the tide against Russia’s offensive. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “nothing is off the table” after Zelenksyy asked for the jets.
In Paris, Zelenskyy said: “The sooner Ukraine gets long-range heavy weaponry, the sooner our pilots get planes, the sooner this Russian aggression will end and we can return to peace in Europe.”
Ukraine’s air force is reportedly familiar with the planes and could fly them immediately without additional training.
The US has not made any comments on whether it would give the fighter jets to Ukraine or allow other countries to re-export their own F-16 aircrafts.
