Poland to hand Ukraine two MiG-29 jets soon, defence ministry confirms

Confirmation and timing

Poland's Ministry of National Defence has confirmed that two MiG-29 fighter jets will be handed to Ukraine "in the near future", according to the daily Rzeczpospolita, which first reported the plan. Dariusz Łukowski, director of the ministry's Department of Strategy and Defence Planning and a retired army general, confirmed the transfer to the paper. Rzeczpospolita established that one of the two aircraft has already reached the end of its service life, while the other is still flying.

Value and contents of the package

The donation is valued at 50 million euros, about 220 million zloty, and covers the aircraft together with air defence equipment. Ukrainian defence ministry representatives had said in September that the Polish donation would reach that value and include air defence. Rzeczpospolita also reports that the package contains 155 mm and 152 mm artillery ammunition, plus 20x102 mm rounds for the six-barrel cannons of F-16 jets.

When asked by Rzeczpospolita, the ministry acknowledged that Poland is preparing another aid package for Ukraine.

According to the ministry, the limit of that support is set by the security of the Polish state and by the armed forces' resources, which the Chief of the General Staff determines. The support would cover equipment leaving use with the Polish armed forces because its service life has run out, and items the Polish army would not otherwise use. The ministry has not disclosed the full contents of the wider package.

Background and stalled talks

Rzeczpospolita recalls that Poland sent 14 MiG-29 jets to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023, in differing technical condition. Deputy prime minister and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (PSL) said at the time that the transfer would benefit the Polish army, because Poland would receive drone and missile technologies in return. The paper notes that this exchange has not taken place. It says the matter stalled at political level after the Ukrainian president named a military unit after heroes of the UPA. In late June, Kosiniak-Kamysz told the programme Gość Wydarzeń that no MiGs would go to Ukraine because Poland had no drones or drone capabilities in return, after Ukraine accepted the swap without carrying it out.

Reaction in Bulgaria

Polish defence ministry representatives had earlier said that Bulgaria was also interested in the MiG-29s, a report that caused a stir in Sofia. Opposition parties there accused the government of buying Soviet-era aircraft instead of focusing on modern F-16s, whose delivery to Bulgaria is delayed. In response, the Bulgarian defence ministry said it was seeking only spare parts for the aircraft it still uses.