Berlin signs off on Poland sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, report says
MiG-29 (Photo:REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)
The German government is expected to give Poland permission to transfer five MiG-29 jet fighters – remnants of GDR’s Soviet-era fleet – to Ukraine, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on April 13, citing government sources.
According to the newspaper, five Soviet-made aircraft from old GDR stocks, which Berlin once transferred to Warsaw, are in question.
"The German government does not see a fundamental problem with this delivery, as it will only replenish Ukraine's air fleet," SZ writes.
In total, Poland purchased 45 MiG fighters between 1989 and 2004: 23 aircraft from GDR stocks, 12 from the Soviet Union, and 10 from the Czech Republic. Currently, 28 MiGs remain in use.
On March 23, Slovakia handed over four MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, becoming the first NATO country to provide combat aircraft. Poland has already delivered eight, and is ready to provide six more.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has not ruled out that in the future Warsaw could transfer its entire MiG-29 fleet to Ukraine, but that would require the consent of Poland’s allies.
The Ukrainian Air Force believes that providing the country with modernized Soviet MiG-29 fighters will be a serious help, but is unlikely to have a transformative impact at the front, as these jets are not equipped with onboard radars and cannot launch modern missiles. The Air Force repeatedly said that Ukraine needs modern Western warplanes to counter the Russian invasion.
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