Poland and Ukraine clash over final MiG‑29 transfer conditions
Ukraine frequently insists that Poland transfer the remaining MiG-29 aircraft. Although the Polish President has clearly defined the conditions under which this can occur, Ukraine criticises Warsaw's decisions. The Ukrainian president has also commented on this issue.
A few hours after the Polish president announced that Poland cannot currently transfer the remaining MiG-29 planes to Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the matter.
During a meeting with local authorities of Zakarpattia, the President of Ukraine stated that the transfer of the MiG-29s had been agreed upon with the Polish authorities. Poland’s support by a NATO mission similar to the Baltic Air Policing programme, under which NATO protects the airspace of the Baltic states, was a condition for delivering the planes.
According to Zelensky, NATO was supposed to declare additional support for Poland, which still has not transferred the planes. There is also no intention to intercept Russian missiles over Ukrainian territory, a point Kyiv has long advocated for.
In the context of Zelensky's declarations regarding NATO support for Poland, it's worth noting that the Minister of National Defence recently mentioned unspecified air assistance from "Scandinavian friends."
The last MiG-29s of the Polish Air Force
Before the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2020, 28 of the MiG-29 fighter jets operating in Poland (out of 44 acquired) were considered airworthy. The Inspector of the Air Force, Maj. Gen. Jacek Pszczoła, informed at that time that Poland had a stock of parts for up to four more years of operation of the MiGs.
After the Russian attack, Poland handed over an undisclosed number of these aircraft to Ukraine – currently, there are likely 14 MiG-29s in the Polish air force, which Ukraine is lobbying to acquire.
The operational life of Polish planes is gradually being exhausted, and the lack of access to spare parts means that the time of the last MiGs in Polish military aviation is coming to an end. These aircraft will be replaced by 32 FA-50 planes purchased from Korea in the final variant FA-50PL. The withdrawn MiGs will most likely be transferred to Ukraine in due course.
