Poland to Transfer Up to 9 MiG-29 Fighter Jets to Ukraine

Poland has decided to transfer up to nine MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in exchange for drone technology.

Deputy Minister of Defense Paveł Zalewski announced this in an exclusive interview with the TVP World program On the Record.

In December, Poland’s military leadership confirmed that talks were ongoing about a potential deal where Poland would receive Ukrainian drone technologies in return for supplying the aircraft.

“We are waiting for a response from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. The discussions are continuing… these are purely technical talks,” Zalewski shared.

When asked if Ukraine had agreed to Poland’s offer, Zalewski confirmed that Kyiv had accepted.

“I believe… that the Ukrainians have decided to accept this offer. Of course, as always, there are some technical aspects that need to be clarified,” he noted, adding that the first batch would consist of “fewer than ten” aircraft.

Zalewski emphasized that the technical details of the MiG-29 fighter jet transfer, including logistics and maintenance, are currently being worked out.

In December, Cezary Tomczyk, another Deputy Minister of Defense of Poland, shared that “six to eight” Soviet-made aircraft are nearing the end of their service life in the Polish Air Force and could be transferred to Ukraine as part of a potential military technology exchange deal.

President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that these aircraft are important because Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly them. He emphasized that “the issue is not the shortage of aircraft, but the shortage of pilots.”

According to him, pilot training on the F-16 takes from 8 months to a year and a half, whereas Ukrainian pilots can immediately fight on the MiG-29 – without additional training.

“When you have daily warfare, every pilot is in high demand. And training a pilot takes years. The issue is not that we don’t have F-16s, even if they’re not new, but we don’t have them. The issue is not that. You’re taking an experienced pilot off the battlefield and sending them abroad,” the President of Ukraine stated.

The transfer is expected to be part of NATO’s broader policy to strengthen the Alliance’s eastern flank and support Ukraine. The outdated MiG-29s will be replaced by more modern aircraft, such as the F-16 and FA-50.