Polish President Andrzej Duda stated in Warsaw this Wednesday that his country intends to deliver its entire fleet of Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters to Kiev “in the future”.
Poland, which has already delivered eight MiG-29s to Ukraine and will soon send another six aircraft, “will be able to transfer its entire fleet of MiGs to Ukraine in the future”, a total of 30 aircraft, and “in agreement with his NATO allies,” Duda said at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who was visiting the Polish capital.
The Polish head of state explained the need for a license due to the fact that the MiG-29s that remain in the country are “adapted to NATO standards”, especially in terms of communication systems and the ability to ensure surveillance missions in the airspace. of the Allies.
“We will still need it,” he indicated, suggesting that all devices will be delivered to Kiev when the shipment of the new South Korean FA-50 and North American F-35 fighters, which have already been passed by Poland ordered starts.
The first 50 FA-50 fighter jets are expected to arrive in Poland before the end of 2023, while the first of 32 F-35s are expected from 2024.
In his statements, Duda also indicated that his country will ask for additional security guarantees for Ukraine at the next NATO summit in Vilnius.
“We will try to get additional security guarantees for Ukraine that will strengthen Ukraine’s military potential, and also strengthen the sense of security of the Ukrainian people,” he said.
Zelensky arrived in Poland this morning for his first official visit to the country.
In addition to meeting his Polish counterpart, Zelensky has scheduled talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to meet with Ukrainians living in Poland who took refuge in the neighboring country after the Russian military invasion in February 2022.
In December 2022, Zelensky made his first foreign trip after the Russian invasion, when he traveled to the United States, stopping in Warsaw on his return.
He then traveled to London, Paris and Brussels in February and also made a short visit to Poland before returning to Ukraine.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14.6 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.1 million to European countries -, according to the latest data from the UN. which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At the moment, at least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million people need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and to impose on Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 8,451 civilian deaths and 14,156 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Source: DN
