(Bratislava) Slovakia will deliver 13 Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, its prime minister announced on Friday, becoming the second NATO country after Poland to make such a move, with Moscow warning that the aircraft will be “destroyed”.
“We will hand over 13 of our MiG-29s to Ukraine,” Eduard Heger told reporters, adding that the move was “fully coordinated with Poland and Ukraine.”
Poland said on Thursday that it would send “in the coming days” a first batch of four MiG-29s.
“We are giving these MiGs to Ukraine so they can protect civilians from the many bombs that fall on their homes and are the reason people are dying in Ukraine,” the prime minister said.
Kyiv has repeatedly asked its Western allies to send it modern fighter-bombers, hoping to get American F-16s.
The Kremlin immediately denounced an “increasing involvement” of NATO countries in the conflict with Kyiv.
“The delivery of this military equipment, as we have repeatedly said, cannot affect the outcome” of the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Of course, this equipment will be destroyed,” he added.
The decision by Poland and Slovakia was hailed by Estonia on Friday.
“Slovakia and Poland are showing great leadership by sending the requested fighter jets to Ukraine,” the Estonian Defense Ministry said on Twitter. “We must do more to help Ukraine win and defeat the aggressor.”
At least three aircraft destined for Ukraine will be used to supply spare parts, while transport to Ukraine will take a few weeks, Slovak officials said on Friday.
The head of government added that his country would also deliver the Koub air defense system to Kyiv.
Last year, Slovakia decided to stop using its MiG-29s. They will be replaced by January 2024 by American F-16s. For now, Slovak airspace is protected by the Czech Republic and Poland.
The delivery of fighters, spare parts and anti-aircraft missiles will be on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement and Slovakia will be compensated by its allies.
“We will receive compensation from the European Peace Facility,” Heger explained.
“There is also a bilateral offer from the United States for a particular military system to be given to Slovakia, the value of which for the Slovak Republic will be around $700 million,” Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said, without further details on this material.
“We are talking about 900 million [euros] in total,” he added.
On Thursday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that “in the coming days” Poland will transfer “four fully operational aircraft to Ukraine”.
Reacting to Warsaw’s announcement, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said: “MiGs won’t solve problems, we need F-16s. But the MiGs will help build our capabilities.”
The Polish decision “does not change anything” however to the American refusal to do the same, underlined shortly after John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House.
“It doesn’t change our analysis. […] It is not on the table,” he told reporters, recalling that US President Joe Biden had publicly opposed the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine.
