Poland finds a new reason not to transfer MiG-29

Ukraine had agreed with NATO to send allied aircraft to Poland so that Warsaw could hand over old MiG-29 fighters to Kyiv. But this was not done.

This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing his statement at a meeting with the leadership of communities and districts in Zakarpattia.

“We have good neighborly relations with Poland. There are various challenges, and we have constantly asked them to shoot down missiles heading towards Poland. There we have Stryi, gas storage facilities, the country depends on this gas supply, our lives,” he said.

According to him, Ukraine asked Poland to protect Stryi, as Ukraine does not have the number of systems to protect the gas storage facility.

“What do the Poles do? Do they shoot it down? No. The Poles said they are ready to shoot down if they are not alone in this decision, if NATO supports them,” the president said.

Zelenskyy said he had agreed with former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Poland would receive a police mission. “These are NATO aircraft. We really wanted to get MiGs from Poland, but they could not give us them because they did not have enough of their own. That's why we agreed with NATO that they would give them a police mission, like our Baltic friends,” he said.

“We agreed on this. And what happened after that? Did Poland give us airplanes? No. Did they find another reason? Yes. Did other countries unite around Poland and say, 'Since we are neighbors, we will shoot down both airplanes and air defense systems'? No. When they decided not to shoot down these missiles with MiGs, we asked them to give us MiGs, and we would have them somewhere in the West.

Author - Olena Madiak, 31/10/2024