Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on the 16th (local time) that he would provide 12 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, and attention is being paid to whether NATO member countries will open up support for fighter jets, which have been hesitant or hesitant.
Duda said Poland would deliver four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days, the first NATO member to do so, with the other eight fighters due to be overhauled later.
Olena Kondratiuk, deputy spokesperson for the Ukrainian parliament, said she hoped more NATO members would join in providing fighter jets.
Other NATO members are considering supporting Soviet-era fighters familiar to Ukrainian pilots.
Ukraine has asked Western countries for support for fourth-generation fighters such as the F-16.
Britain is training Ukrainian pilots in NATO-standard fourth-generation fighters, but has warned that fighter support is only a long-term plan, as training takes a long time.
US President Joe Biden also ruled out US fighter support.
At the time of the Russian invasion in February last year, Ukraine is said to have had about 120 old MiG-29s and Sukhoi-27s.
Kira Rudyk, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said, “We need fighter support to prepare for Russia’s spring offensive.
“Our air force will use Polish fighters very effectively,” said Yury Sak, assistant to Ukraine’s defense minister. But he stressed the need for fourth-generation jets like the F-16.
Poland is a strong ally of Ukraine and provides the most military aid among European NATO members. Poland is currently replacing old Soviet fighters with new American and Korean models.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine re-uploaded a video on Twitter of the destruction of the Mariupol Theater by Russian fighter jets in March last year, and appealed for support for F-16 fighters, saying that if F-16 fighters had been present at that time, the sacrifices could have been prevented. are doing
Source: Donga
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