Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw is ready to transfer MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine if necessary, but expects to receive Ukrainian drones in return.
He said this during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on February 5.
“When it comes to the MiG-29, we talked about it in detail. They are waiting, they are at our disposal. President Zelensky and I agreed that we will work flexibly and, if necessary, change our positions to work adequately to the needs. To the current needs,” Tusk said.
Poland is ready to immediately transfer these fighters, but within the framework of a mutual exchange, which, according to Tusk, Ukraine is ready for.
“If MiGs are needed, Poland is ready to transfer them at this moment. We talked about a mutual exchange. Ukraine is ready for this. We are talking about Ukrainian drones because we want to build effective anti-drone defense. And our cooperation with Ukraine is key here,” the Polish Prime Minister said.
He also noted that during the meeting, Zelensky drew his attention to the fact that air defense systems and missiles are currently a higher priority for Ukraine than the MiG-29.
“Today I will not answer the question posed by President Zelensky whether it would be possible to transfer another type of equipment instead of MiGs, but immediately after returning to Poland I will talk to the Minister of National Defense. And no later than Monday I will let President Zelensky know what is possible,” said the head of the Polish government.
In addition, Tusk reported that Poland is completing the preparation of the 48th aid package for Ukraine, which will contain armored vehicles for the Ukrainian troops.
“The 47th aid package was worth about PLN 100 million. It was mainly 155-millimeter ammunition, which we have already transferred in large part. We are completing the preparation of the 48th package. It will cost PLN 200 million and will mostly contain armored vehicles for the Ukrainian troops,” Tusk added.
As a reminder, on January 15, it became known that Poland may transfer up to nine Soviet-style MiG fighters to Ukraine to strengthen defense against Russian aggression. The parties are currently agreeing on the technical details of a possible deal.
Earlier, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk stated that “six to eight” MiG aircraft in the Polish army are reaching the end of their service life and could be transferred to Ukraine as part of an agreement on the exchange of military technologies.
Poland has already transferred tanks, artillery and ammunition to Ukraine. The possible transfer of fighter jets would be a new stage of military assistance from Warsaw.