Four MiG-29 fighter jets will be handed over to Ukraine in the coming days – Duda

Poland plans to hand over the first four MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine in the coming days and, later, all of its aircraft of this type.

Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, announced this during a press conference.

“First of all, literally over the next few days, we will hand over to Ukraine, as far as I remember, four planes in full working order,” Andrzej Duda said.

Besides, he added that the rest of the aircraft is currently undergoing maintenance. After completing the necessary works, they will also be handed over to Ukraine.

“We can safely state that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine. We have more than ten of these in stock,” the President of Poland said in his speech.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of the country, shared that Warsaw will deliver its aircraft within 4-6 weeks. Additionally, a representative of the country’s National Security Bureau mentioned that Poland could send 4-5 aircraft “to start” already within a week.

The exact number of aircraft ready to be transferred has not been announced, but it is reported that the Polish Air Force has 26 MiG-29 fighter jets in various states of readiness.

“Our security will not suffer. We will constantly keep the Russian front away from our borders,” Piotr Müller, the Government Spokesman, said on Thursday.

The transferred aircraft are to be replaced by newly delivered FA-50 fighters from South Korea, the first of which are expected to arrive at the end of the year. Later, Poland will also have squadrons of F-35 combat aircraft.

Ukrainian pilots have extensive experience in using MiG-29 fighter jets, which Ukraine received after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This will allow getting the received aircraft into the air almost immediately.

The additional aircraft, which Ukraine has requested since the start of the war, is to help the Ukrainian Air Force control airspace and intercept Russian cruise missiles.

On Tuesday, Morawiecki announced that Warsaw was also considering the possibility of providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with American-made F-16 fighter jets. This aircraft will give the Ukrainians a qualitative advantage over the Russians.