Ukraine’s military has voiced doubts after Poland vowed to transfer some of its MiG-29 fighter jets, saying the aging aircraft is a welcome addition but will be of limited help, while demanding “modern” US-made planes instead.
Polish President Andrzej Duda announced the upcoming weapon transfer on Thursday, noting that Warsaw would send four “fully operational” MiG-29s sometime “in the coming days,” the first batch of around a dozen jets in total.
“These MiGs are still in service in Poland’s air force. They’re in their last years of operation but are still for the most part in full working order,” he said of the aircraft, the first variant of which entered service in the Soviet Union in 1983.
Though Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the deliveries could take up to six weeks at a press conference on Tuesday, the timetable appears to have shifted forward, with Duda stating that Poland is now “on the verge” of sending the jets to Ukraine. It remains unclear how the jets will be delivered across the border and when they will arrive.