The German government has agreed to Poland’s request to transfer five Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets to assist Ukraine in defending itself against the Russian invasion.
“I welcome the fact that we in the federal government have reached this decision together,” Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement on Thursday.
Poland needs Germany’s consent to send its remaining jets to a third country.
Pistorius stated that the request from Poland was received on Thursday and that the same-day approval demonstrated that “you can rely on Germany.”
During reunification in 1990, Germany received 24 MiG-29 jets from the German Democratic Republic, or GDR, also known as East Germany. The aircraft were considered to be among the most advanced fighter jets in the world at the time.
The German government transferred 22 of the planes to neighboring Poland in 2004. One of the remaining two jets was destroyed in a crash, and the other is on display at a museum.
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Warsaw a week ago, his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, stated that his country had already provided four MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, with four more on the way and another six in the works. Ukraine has also received MiG-29s from Slovakia.
Ukraine, which plans to launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months, is looking for fighter jets to defend against Russian air raids.
Western countries have been hesitant to provide Ukraine with advanced fighter jets, such as the US-made F-16s, but some countries have stepped in to send old MiG-29 jets, which Ukraine already has.
Since the beginning of the war, fighter jets had been high on Kyiv’s list of desired equipment, but efforts had been focused on acquiring advanced Western tanks.
Since Germany and the United States agreed to send Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks to Ukraine, there has been an increase in demand for Western aircraft.
Poland, which has sent 14 Leopard 2 tanks made in Germany to Ukraine, was an early supporter of sending fighter jets to the war-torn country.
While the MiG-29s may provide some relief to Ukraine, they are unlikely to meet all of its needs.
Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has previously called for “a powerful fighter jet coalition for Ukraine,” comprising US-made F-16s and F-35s, Eurofighter, Tornado, Rafale and Gripen warplanes.