Polish President talks to NATO Secretary General about possible supply of MiG fighters to Ukraine
Polish President Andrzej Duda has said that he touched upon the possibility of supplying Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Source: Duda's statement as quoted by Polsat News; European Pravda reports
Details: In particular, Duda confirmed that Poland would be ready for such a transfer if NATO countries decided to relocate the fighters from the West to Polish bases.
The Polish president said that they discussed the issue of the Polish MiG-29s, which are still in service. He stated there was only one squadron of MiGs left, and that decisions had to be made in this regard. Poland is currently using these aircraft, but if they are handed over to Ukraine, a fundamental condition must first be met: Polish airspace must be protected.
Duda noted that these Soviet aircraft are currently used by the Polish army to ensure airspace security.
He added that Poland provides assistance to Ukraine on a daily basis, as his country is a transit country and if there was no Polish infrastructure to support Ukraine, the latter country would be in an extremely difficult situation.
Background:
- In July, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk mentioned that Poland might consider supplying additional Soviet-model fighter jets to Ukraine if it can find replacements for them in collaboration with its allies.
- Later, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz rejected calls from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to expedite the supply of MiG-29s to Ukraine, citing the same argument.
- In September, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that Warsaw could hand over additional MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine, but this would depend on whether it has sufficient resources to protect its own airspace.
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