BERLIN: The German government approved Poland’s request to transfer five Soviet-designed MiG-29 jets to help Ukraine defend against the Russian invasion.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said, “I welcome the fact we in the federal government have reached this decision together.” Poland needs Germany’s consent to send its remaining fighter jets to the third country.
Pistorius said a request from Poland had arrived, adding that the same-day approval showed that “you can rely on Germany”.
Germany inherited 24 MiG-29 fighter jets
Germany inherited 24 MiG-29 fighter jets from the German Democratic Republic and GDR, widely known as East Germany, during reunification in 1990. At the time, the fighters were seen as among the most advanced jets globally.
In 2004, the government of Germany passed on 22 of the fighters to neighbouring Poland. One of the remaining two fighter jets was destroyed in the crash, and one is on show at a museum.
When President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Warsaw a week ago, his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, said that his country already had provided four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, with four more in the process of getting handed over and another six being prepared. Slovakia also delivered MiG-29s fighters to Ukraine.
Ukraine, which hopes to launch the counteroffensive in the coming weeks and months, wants to secure fighter jets to defend against Russian air raids. Western powers have been reluctant to provide Ukraine with advanced jets, such as the United States-made F-16s, and few countries have stepped in to send old MiG-29 fighter jets that Ukraine already uses.
The jets had been high on Kyiv’s list of desired weapons equipment since early in the Russia/Ukraine war, but efforts had been focused on acquiring advanced and powerful Western tanks.
Calls for Western aircraft have increased since the United States and Germany agreed to send advanced Leopard 2 and powerful Abrams tanks to Ukraine, respectively. Poland, which has sent advance 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, was an early advocate of sending jets to the war-torn country.
Although MiG-29s may provide some relief to Ukraine, they’re unlikely to satiate its demands.
