Poland said on Tuesday it was ready to place its Mig-29 planes at the disposal of the United States “without delay”, the Polish Foreign Ministry said, paving the way for a possible scheme to transfer these aircraft to Ukraine, at war with Russia.
Poland “is ready to deliver without delay and free of charge all its Mig-29 aircraft at the base [alemana] of Ramstein to the United States government,” the ministry said in a statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other Western leaders last week denied the possibility of a NATO country delivering warplanes to Ukraine.
But on Sunday, Blinken acknowledged that they were considering this option.
“We are now actively analyzing the issue of sending planes from Poland to Ukraine and how we could compensate for it,” he said during a visit to Moldova.
The Mig-29s, former Soviet-made aircraft, could be used by Ukrainian pilots without the need for training.
This is because the Ukrainian air force is exclusively made up of Soviet Mig-29 and Sukhoi-27 fighters (air defense and ground support) and Sukhoi-25 fighter-bombers, according to the “Military Balance” of the International Institute for Strategic Studies ( IISS).
Poland has about thirty Migs, but only 23 would be able to operate.
According to US media, Washington would replace the Polish Mig with modern F-16s.
