Poland turned to Germany with an official request to send MiG-29 fighters of the Cold War to Ukraine.
This information was confirmed by the German government on April 13, writes DW.
Poland has already sent eight planes to Ukraine, which was confirmed by Polish President Andrzej Duda in March. But the ones they want to deliver now come from the old stocks of the German Democratic Republic.
Soviet-made aircraft previously belonged to the GDR, and in 2002, 23 of them were transferred to Poland.
The head of the German Defense Ministry, Boris Pistorius, said that a decision on the fighter jets will be made on April 13.
- On April 3, Poland announced the transfer of the first few MiG-29s to Ukraine, but did not specify the exact number. Now it is known that there were four of them. After Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs visit to Polish President Andrzej Duda, the transfer of ten more fighter jets was announced.
- On March 23, Slovakia already handed over the first four MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine. Other aircraft will be handed over in the coming weeks. For security reasons, these deliveries will not be announced. However, some media wrote that Slovakia will transfer 13 MiG-29s.
- Ukraine is asking its allies for Western-made multirole fighter jets, such as the F-15, F-16 and F-18. So far, the partners have agreed only to train Ukrainian pilots, in particular, this was promised by Britain, Poland and three other countries, which are kept secret. Discussions about preparations for the transfer of Western aircraft are ongoing.