Poland and Slovakia press to promote an alliance to send combat aircraft to Ukraine

Poland and Slovakia promote an alliance to send combat aircraft to Ukraine.

Following Thursday's announcement that Warsaw will send four Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighters to Kiev "in the next few days," and that some more may arrive later, Slovakia has announced the transfer of 13 of its MiG-29s as part of military aid to Ukraine, although most of the apparatus is not in perfect condition.

The step forward of the two eastern states, members of NATO and the EU, may contribute to a cascade effect.

Warsaw has been pressing the allies for months to meet Ukraine's demands to receive military aircraft and wants to form a coalition of countries that will send fighters and guarantee their logistics, as it already did with the Leopard tanks;

an alliance that, however, does not finish taking off.

The delivery of aircraft to Ukraine, including vintage Soviet-era fighters, has been a red line for the allies since the start of the full-scale war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, now entering its second year.

The subject is controversial.

For some Atlantic Alliance countries, delivering fighter jets to Kiev risks being drawn into a confrontation with Russia, which is fueling rhetoric that NATO allies' arms support for Ukraine implies their involvement in the war.

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So far, delivering spare parts to repair and overhaul Ukraine's fleet of Soviet-era warplanes has been the most fighter-related thing the allies have agreed to.

kyiv wants the modern and powerful American F-16s, which Washington does not want to send it.

However, the MiG-29s – which will add to Ukraine's existing fleet of those fighters – will give it a significant boost to confront the invading Russians, who have air superiority.

Warsaw is now working to add to the coalition of sending MiG-29s to Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, which also have these Soviet-designed fighter jets.

At the end of last year, Finland and the Netherlands were also open to supplying fighters, but for the moment that intention has not materialized in announcements or facts.

The almost synchronized announcement by Poland and Slovakia comes just days after a large virtual meeting of defense ministers from more than 40 countries in the Ukraine-supporting group, in which the countries most in favor of increasing arms support for Kiev — above all the Baltics and Poland—tried to revitalize the coalition by shipping German-made Leopard tanks, according to allied sources.

The reinvigorated debate over sending fighter jets to Ukraine comes just as the European Union is set to approve a new ammunition shipment plan for Ukraine.

The high representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, has asked the Twenty-seven to use up to 2,000 million euros to send howitzers with a caliber of 155 millimeters and other projectiles that Kiev needs through a two-step plan that contemplates that the Member States hand over ammunition from their arsenals and join in a large joint purchase.

The foreign and defense ministers will discuss the plan next week at a large meeting in Brussels.

"Promises must be kept and when [Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky] asked for more weapons, including fighter jets, I said that we will do everything possible," Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on social media on Friday.

"Military aid is key to ensure Ukraine can defend itself and [all] Europe against Russia," he added.

Shipping, which can spur the decision of others, may not be so easy, however.

The opposition has already been against the transfer of fighters to Ukraine and Heger's is an interim government that does not have a majority.

Any fissure in what has already been announced can also breathe new life into Moscow's rhetoric, which takes advantage of any gap in the support of the allies and the EU.

The Russian Embassy in Slovakia has already come forward, saying the transfer is "illegal" under past agreements between Moscow and Bratislava.

The Kremlin said on Friday that the supply of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine is an example of the growing involvement of NATO countries in the conflict, but has dismissed their importance in the battle.

"There is a feeling that these countries are simply getting rid of old and unnecessary equipment," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov was quoted as saying by the Russian state agency Tass.

"You don't have to be a military expert to say that this will not affect," he added.

The planes that Slovakia plans to send to Ukraine have been on the ground since last August and some need preparation, Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad explained in the Slovak press.

Bratislava—like Warsaw—is awaiting delivery of new US-made F-35 fighter jets.

It will also send part of its Kub air defense system to Ukraine.

In exchange, he will receive some 700 million dollars [about 658 million euros] in US military equipment and 200 million dollars in funds from the European Union, according to Nad.

The Zelenski government has appreciated the shipments, although it does not hide that what it really wants is to receive aircraft manufactured in the US, such as the F-16.

Washington refuses to hand them over and alleges, among other things, that the Ukrainian pilots need extensive training to handle them, as well as significant logistical support.

The United Kingdom has promised to train Ukrainian pilots and although it has not opened the door to sending combat planes, it has offered to provide air cover to the Atlantic Alliance countries that deliver theirs to Kiev.

With Russia's war in Ukraine entrenched in the east and a battle of attrition, the announcement by Poland and Slovakia also seems intended to help defuse the situation at a time when Kiev and Moscow are trying to rally men, weapons and ammunition for the spring offensive.

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