The Polish government has agreed to provide all of its MIG-29 fighter jets for usage by Ukrainian defenders in their ongoing war against Russian invaders. As a statement from the Polish minister of foreign affairs explained the latest development, the “authorities of the Republic of Poland, after consultations between the President and the Government, are ready to deploy – immediately and free of charge – all their MIG-29 jets to the Ramstein Air Base and place them at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America.” U.S. authorities are set to facilitate the transfer to personnel in Ukraine. In addition, the Polish statement added that their country “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 to supply the U.S. with its entire stockpile of MIG-29 jets, free of charge.
The planes are then expected to be shipped to Ukraine.
The Polish government asked other NATO members to follow the country’s example.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 8, 2022
Notably, the variety of fighter jets that are set to be sent to Ukraine were designed in the Soviet Union. Officials from the Biden administration previously acknowledged deliberations over the hoped for transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine; asked this Sunday about the prospective delivery by Polish authorities of such aircraft for Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “that gets the green light. In fact, we’re talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if in fact they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians. What can we do? How can we help to make sure that they get something to backfill the planes that they’re handing over to the Ukrainians?” In other words, it sounds as though the Biden administration is prepared to fulfill the request from Polish authorities for aircraft to make up for the jets that they’re sending out for the usage of personnel in Ukraine.
⚡️ Britain calls for 'Marshall Plan for Ukraine.'
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the leaders of the Visegrad Group — Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia — to develop a fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 8, 2022
Poland has also provided a humanitarian refuge to a substantial portion of the more than 2 million and counting refugees who have fled Ukraine amid the violence — hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine have gone into Poland, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In Ukraine, those participating in the defense of the country against Vladimir Putin’s invasion have touted large losses that they say they’ve inflicted on the other side — in one recent instance, dozens of Russian aircraft were reported to have been wiped out in rapid succession at an airfield around the city of Kherson, which has been captured by Russian forces, and Ukrainians say that they’ve eliminated four dozen Russian planes and 80 helicopters from the battlefield so far, with figures rising. Pinning down the relevant numbers in such a situation is difficult, but Western officials have tentatively backed up the notion that thousands of Russian soldiers have died.
Crowds of Ukrainian refugees gather to find food, clothes, and shelter after crossing the Polish border into Medyka village on March 4, 2022.
Since Russia began its war, more than half a million Ukrainian refugees fled to Poland.
Photos by our reporter on the ground @lapatina_ pic.twitter.com/bKxMksSLHg
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 5, 2022
Featured Image (edited): via Cabinet Ministers of Ukraine and available under a Creative Commons License
