Ukraine has agreed with NATO to send planes to Poland, expecting to receive MiG aircraft from Poland in return, but Poland has found other reasons not to hand over the planes. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during a meeting with the heads of territorial communities and districts of Transcarpathia, UNN reports.
Details
Speaking about Ukraine's efforts to engage its western neighbors in repelling russian drone attacks, the president described the details of negotiations with Poland on the transfer of MiGs.
We have good neighborly relations with Poland. We have constantly asked them to shoot down missiles heading in the direction of Poland. We asked them to protect Stryi and the gas storage facilities on which the country depends, because we do not have the appropriate number of air defense systems. And what do the Poles do? Are they shooting down? No. The Poles said they are ready to shoot down if NATO supports them. I agreed with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg that Poland would receive a police mission, which means NATO aircraft. We really wanted to get MiGs from Poland, but they couldn't give them to us because they didn't have enough. So we agreed with NATO that they would provide us with a police mission. Did Poland give us the planes after that? No. They found another reason
Recall
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski talked about the possibility of transferring a new batch of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine if the allies help Poland in its air policing mission over its territory.
In the summer, Ukraine and Poland signed a security agreement that provides for the interception of Russian missiles and drones, and Poland is considering the transfer of at least 14 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.