Poland Likely To Send Soviet-Era MiG-29 Fighter Jets In A Month To Help Ukraine

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday that Poland may dispatch Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in four to six weeks. However, he did not provide any detail about the size of the unit that could be sent, reported Bloomberg.

This transfer, if it takes place, would be a significant decision, as western allies have been cautious about supplying Ukraine with military aircraft due to political taboos. Although Polish President Andrzej Duda has previously stated that his country does not have the capacity to donate any of its 48 F-16 jets, as NATO members would have to make a joint decision, he has suggested that Warsaw could send its Soviet-era MiGs. -29 jets instead, according to Bloomberg.

Since Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been requesting combat jets. Previously, Poland had offered to send some of its MiGs via a US airbase in Germany, but the Pentagon rejected the proposal, citing concerns about the entire NATO alliance.

Poland has been increasing its defense spending and modernizing its military equipment amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. With concerns of being targeted by the Kremlin, Poland aims to spend 4% of its GDP on defense this year, double the NATO requirement, and become the biggest defense spender per capita in the alliance, reported Fox News.

While plans to modernize the equipment were already in place, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 accelerated the process. Poland’s Defense Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, in an interview to Defence24 emphasized the need to increase security levels as quickly as possible by creating a strong military, capable of deterring potential aggressors.

To this end, Poland has ordered 1,000 K2 main battle tanks from South Korea and 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks from the US, with another 600 K9s, 18 HIMARS launchers, and 288 K239 Chunmoo MRL systems from South Korea expected to arrive.

Additionally, Poland is planning to double the size of its army to 300,000 troops, effectively making it the largest military in terms of manpower west of Ukraine. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that Poland’s efforts to strengthen the army through arms purchases are accompanied by a strengthening of NATO’s presence on the eastern flank. Poland is perceived as a guarantee of security on NATO’s eastern flank.