In Stunning Reversal, Poland Agrees to Send Its ‘Entire Fleet’ of Fighter Jets to Ukraine ‘Immediately and Free of Charge’

By
David Rufful
-
OPINION | This article contains opinion. This site is licensed to publish this content.

A major decision was made by the Polish government, which confirmed its entire fleet of MIG-29 fighter jets are available “immediately and free of charge” to Ukraine.

Initially, Poland was hesitant to be involved in the conflict in any capacity.

The Polish government asserted that NATO was not at war with Russia. The government claimed that sending major offensive weapons like fighter jets to Ukraine would be tantamount to “joining [the] conflict.”

In a stunning reversal, Poland will send its entire fleet of MIG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. Air Force base at Rammstein in Germany.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he was looking “very actively” at a scheme to get Poland to donate jets.

More on this story via Breitbart News:

Blinken’s comments were considered remarkable when they were made as they came just hours after the Polish government itself declared the suggestion it would send fighter jets to Ukraine as “FAKE NEWS.” Days before that, Poland’s president stood beside the secretary-general of NATO and said “NATO is not party” to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, sending jets to Ukraine “would open a military interference”, and Poland is “not joining that conflict”.

Concluding his remarks, President Andrzej Duda expressed a very definitive-sounding “we are not going to send any jets to the Ukrainian airspace.”

While Poland made clear it was happy to give the aging MIG-29s away for free in the new statement, it was apparent it also expected to be compensated for the donation by the United States in return, writing: “Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities. Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions of purchase of the planes.”

Poland’s MIG-29 fighters are late-Cold War-era, Soviet-made warbirds that the modern Polish state inherited at the end of communism. Poland has been modernising — and Westernising — its fighter fleet for years, swapping out older MIGs for American-made F16Cs and Ds, in a process that continues today with an order for F-35A’s due to be delivered from 2024.

Should Poland receive replacement aircraft from the U.S. immediately, they would likely be more F-16s like those already operated by their airforce. Ironically enough, the F-16 is actually an older airframe than the MIG-29, having first flown in 1974 compared to the Russian’s 1977. Nevertheless, the F-16 has enjoyed a constant program of investment and modernisation.