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| Russia Threatens To Destroy Ukrainian MiG-29 Fighter Jets Polish And Slovak Aid |
Moscow - Russia has threatened to destroy the MiG-29 fighter jets provided to Ukraine by its allies. It was issued after two NATO member countries, Poland and Slovenia, promised to help the Soviet-era fighter jets.
Slovakia became the second NATO country to promise Kiev several MiG-29 fighter jets on Friday (17/3/2023), a day after Poland. Slovakia has grounded its MiG-29 fighter jet fleet in the last year and is no longer using the fighter jets.
Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the plans of NATO countries, saying that the plane would not affect the outcome of Moscow's special military operation, as it is called war, but only bring additional misery to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
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Earlier, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger tweeted that his government had approved the delivery of the country's 13 MiG-29 fighter jets. He said promises had to be kept and that he was glad others were answering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's calls for more guns. He said Slovakia will also deliver parts of the Kub air defense system to Ukraine.
On Thursday, Poland promised four MiG-29s, to be delivered in the coming days, but more are expected to follow. Like the promise of the Leopard tanks, the country has broken the barrier. This is a step that no one was ready to take a year ago. It's unclear how many Slovak planes are operational.
Ukraine has requested modern fighter jets from Western countries, but due to the long training time, these are only seen as a long-term option. Kiev sees the presence of fighter jets as extra important for its defense and possible counterattack, a year after the Russian invasion.
Other NATO countries are considering sending Soviet-era aircraft such as the MiG, which Ukrainian pilots were trained to fly. It's a positive step for Ukraine - which has more pilots than planes - but won't make a decisive difference. Ukraine says what they need are US-made F-16 fighter jets.