Germany has granted approval to Poland’s request to export five old MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine to help boost the country’s air power against the Russian invasion, the German defence ministry confirmed on Thursday. Poland’s defence ministry has not yet commented on the matter.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the request was received on Thursday, and Germany’s same-day approval demonstrated that Germany was dependable.
In 1990, Germany inherited 24 MiG-29 jets from East Germany after reunification, which were then among the most advanced fighter jets in the world. Berlin later passed on 22 of these aircraft to Poland in 2004, with one of the two remaining jets destroyed in a crash and the other on display in a museum. Poland must obtain Germany’s permission to send its remaining fighter jets to a third country.
During a visit to Warsaw last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Poland would assist in forming a coalition of Western powers to provide warplanes to Kyiv. Ukraine is seeking to obtain fighter jets to defend against air strikes as it plans to launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months.
While Western countries have been hesitant to send advanced fighter jets like F-16’s to Kyiv, some countries have provided old MiG-29 jets that Ukraine already operates.
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