Poland is prepared to put all its MiG-29 fighter jets at the disposal of the US, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, amid a high-stakes debate over how to support Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion of its territory.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed for Nato states to provide his country with planes to bolster its capabilities and US officials have been discussing providing Poland with F-16s in exchange if it did so.
Polish officials have expressed reservations about taking any steps that could drag their country into the war. But the foreign ministry said that Warsaw was prepared to send its MiG-29 jets to the Ramstein air base in Germany “immediately and free of charge” and put them at the disposal of the US government.
“At the same time, 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,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The Polish Government also requests other Nato Allies — owners of MiG-29 jets — to act in the same vein.”
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the US was looking “very actively” at supplying military aircraft to Poland should Warsaw choose to send its own to Ukraine. His remarks came after intense pressure from Zelensky, who said that if Nato would not institute a no-fly zone over Ukraine, then it should provide its air force with fighter jets.
To facilitate this, Zelensky asked the US to give Poland and other eastern European allies F-16 fighter jets, enabling those countries to then send Russian-made warplanes to Ukraine. Ukrainian pilots need Russian-made aircraft because those are the systems they have been trained to fly.
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