Leopard Tanks, Fighter Jets, hosting American troops. How Poland is going out of its way to help war-torn Ukraine
2 min read . Updated: 16 Mar 2023, 10:03 PM IST
Premium- Even with the threat of similar invasion looming over its head, Poland is helping Ukraine from the first minute of the war
Poland's President Andrzej Duda pledged four MiG-29 fighter jets to help Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion. The announcement will make Poland the first member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to fulfill the Ukrainian government's increasing requirement for warplanes. This is another addition to list of how Poland is going out of its way to help the war-torn Ukraine.
Even with the threat of similar invasion looming over its head, Poland is helping Ukraine from the first minute of the war. The country is hosting thousands of American troops and has taken in more refugees from the conflict in Ukraine than any other country during the most significant refugee crisis in Europe in many years.
Last month, Poland became the first NATO country to provide Ukraine with German-manufactured Leopard 2 tanks.
“When it comes to the MiG-29 aircraft, which are still operating in the defense of Polish airspace, a decision has been taken at the highest levels, we can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine," Duda said.
“We have a dozen or so MiGs that we got in the 90s handed down from the German Democratic Republic and they are functional and play a part in the defense of our airspace. They are at the end of their operational life but are still functional," Duda added.
The President announced that in the coming days, the country will hand over four planes to Ukraine and more after servicing.
“In the coming days we will hand over four planes to Ukraine, the remaining machines are being serviced and prepared for handover. We will replace them with deliveries of South Korean FA-50s and American F-35s," the Polish president said.
Polish President did not talk about other countries pledging military support to Ukraine, but some reports claim that Slovakia is also mulling over a similar move to provide Ukraine with disused MiGs.
Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's appeal for Western backers to provide fighter jets, NATO allies have been reluctant to do so. Prior to the complete invasion by Russia, Ukraine possessed a few dozen MiG-29s that it inherited from the Soviet Union's collapse. It is unclear how many of them are still operational following more than a year of warfare.
The discussion about whether or not to supply Ukraine (non-NATO country) with fighter planes began over a year ago, but NATO has been hesitant to do so for fear of aggravating the conflict.
Duda was speaking in a press conference with his counterpart from Czech Petr Pavel. “The Czech Republic and Poland are countries that are in the absolute vanguard when it comes to supporting Ukraine, both at humanitarian and military levels," he added.
(With inputs from AP)