Polish media investigated why their MiGs would rot at an airbase instead of aiding Ukraine.
Polish MiG-29 / © Wikipedia
Negotiations between Kyiv and Warsaw regarding the transfer of Polish MiG-29 fighter jets have stalled, and public statements from Polish high-ranking officials concealed the actual technical condition of the aircraft and discrepancies in the agreements.
This is evidenced by information from the Polish publication Onet.
In recent weeks, the topic of MiG-29 fighter jets, which remain at the disposal of the Polish Air Force, has resurfaced. Warsaw publicly accused Ukraine of refusing to share advanced drone technologies in exchange for aviation.
As it turned out, behind the political disputes about “exchanging aircraft for Ukrainian drone technologies” lies the mundane unsuitability of the equipment for safe flight without substantial investment.
According to the publication, after inspecting the Soviet-era fighters, Ukrainian delegations concluded that their technical condition was so poor that they were willing to accept them only on the condition that Poland would modernize the aircraft at its own expense.
“We could not agree to that,” a source connected to the Polish government told Onet.
The issue is that these aircraft, currently stationed at the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork, have not been modernized for years, as Poland is gradually replacing them with new equipment: F-16s, FA-50s, and F-35s.
Ukrainian experts assessed the fighters as significantly worn out. The poor condition of the landing gear was particularly concerning. They expressed readiness to receive the Polish aircraft but set a condition: the aircraft must first undergo major overhaul and modernization at the Polish Military Aviation Works in Bydgoszcz. The costs were to be borne by the Polish side.
“After the full-scale war began, Ukrainians started repairing and modernizing their MiGs at factories in Bydgoszcz. They paid for these services from their own budget. This time, they wanted our government to pay for it,” says a source connected to the Polish arms industry.
For the Polish Ministry of National Defence, Kyiv’s demands proved unacceptable, as modernizing the Soviet-era machines would incur enormous expenses, and the Ukrainian side offered nothing in return.
“When Poland refused to finance this work, the Ukrainians lost interest in our MiGs,” claims an Onet source. A similar statement was also confirmed by a source from the Ministry of Defence.
Only when questions began to arise in the public sphere about when Poland would transfer MiGs to Ukraine did the Polish government decide to link this issue with the problem of a lack of technological transfer from Ukraine.
Onet’s interlocutors emphasize that Ukrainians are still interested in acquiring Polish fighter jets. However, during negotiations, the Ukrainian side allegedly “played hardball, setting tough, complex conditions.” Meanwhile, the Polish side could not specify what exactly it expected in return.
“Drone technology is such a broad concept that you can weave anything into it. The problem is that the Polish Ministry of National Defence could not discuss specifics, so the Ukrainians refused to participate. This is a festival of incompetence. Unfortunately, politics interfered with the picture on both sides, causing a lot of damage,” says the publication’s source.
The publication’s interlocutor notes that relations between the two countries are currently so strained that even if Poland doesn’t need certain equipment and it would be better to give it to Ukraine, it won’t do so for free.
According to Polish military officials, although negotiations on transferring MiGs to Ukraine have reached an impasse, the issue has not stopped. Firstly, these aircraft, if modernized, would have real value for the Ukrainian armed forces.
Secondly, if they do not reach Ukraine, Poland will soon have to decide what to do with them: how to preserve them and where to put them. “Soon, this equipment will become practically irreparable,” says a pilot of the Polish Air Force.
The publication recalls that in 2023, Poland transferred 11 combat MiGs and three aircraft intended for use as spare parts to Ukraine. Slovakia, in turn, transferred ten of its fighter jets to Ukraine. Ukraine had over 20 of its own aircraft. This means that the Ukrainian Air Force currently has less than three full squadrons of MiG-29 fighters.
We remind you that Poland is scrapping MiG-29 fighter jets that it planned to transfer to Ukraine.
Poland stated that it was supposed to receive drone technologies from the Ukrainians in exchange for the aircraft. However, the deal has, at least for now, fallen through. The Polish Minister of National Defence, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, blames Ukraine.
News of the cancellation of the deal and the subsequent scrapping of the fighter jets that Poland had promised to transfer to Ukraine sparked a lively discussion among users of the Threads social network.
In turn, an expert suggested that these decommissioned aircraft could be used as a source of spare parts to maintain the combat readiness of Ukrainian aviation.
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