Germany agrees to let Poland send more Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine

Đức đồng ý để Ba Lan gửi thêm máy bay chiến đấu thời Liên Xô tới Ukraine

MiG-29 fighter jets - the type transferred by Poland to Ukraine after German approval, (source: aviationvoice)

Mr. Boris Pistorius added that the German side received Poland's request on April 13 and agreed on the same day. This shows that partners "can trust Germany."

The five MiG-29s transferred to Ukraine were among 24 MiG-29 jets that the German government received from the German Democratic Republic after the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990. The aircraft, designed and manufactured by the Soviet Union, entered service in 1983. At the time, the MiG-29 was one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world .

In 2004, the German government transferred 22 of the aircraft to Poland. Of the two remaining jets, one was destroyed in a training crash and one is on display in a museum.

During a visit to Poland last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda agreed that Poland would deliver four MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, with four more already in the pipeline and six more in the pipeline. In addition to Poland, Slovakia has also delivered a number of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Western countries have so far been reluctant to provide Ukraine with advanced fighter jets like the US-made F-16. But some countries have stepped in to send old MiG-29 jets that Ukraine already uses.

The need for fighter support was Kiev’s desire from the beginning of the conflict. But then Kiev focused on buying advanced Western tanks. After the US and Germany agreed to send Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the country began to focus on strengthening its fighter fleet from the West.

So far, Poland has sent 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and Poland is also the country that supports sending fighter jets to Ukraine as soon as possible.

After the conflict broke out, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk called for the creation of “a powerful fighter coalition for Ukraine,” including US-made F-16s and F-35s and other fighter jets such as the Eurofighter, Tornado, Rafale and Gripen.

However, Kiev's call does not appear to have strong support from the US and its allies.

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