After rejecting the transfer of two MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, Poland said it will soon send two more aircraft as part of a new military aid package worth about €50 million (£43 million).
Dariusz Łukowski, director of strategy and defense planning at Poland’s Ministry of National Defense, told the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita that the decision had already been made.
“In the near future. The decision has been made, and these two MiG-29s will be transferred,” he said.
One of the jets has reached the end of its service life and is likely to be used for spare parts. The other is still airworthy. Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski later confirmed that Poland has signed an agreement for the two aircraft.
The wider package is expected to include 155mm and 152mm artillery ammunition, 20mm rounds for the multi-barrel guns on F-16 fighter jets, and missiles for Piorun man-portable air defense systems.
Poland’s defense ministry said it is preparing aid that includes equipment its armed forces are retiring because it has reached the end of its useful life.
“Equipment that will no longer be used by the Polish military, but may still be useful in Ukraine,” the ministry stated. It added that the scale of support depends on Poland’s security needs and the resources of its armed forces.
Poland-Ukraine Tensions
Earlier, as EurAsian Times reported, Ukrainian President Zelensky infuriated Poland by naming a military unit after the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a group involved in the massacres of Polish people during World War II.
Poland’s nationalist President Karol Nawrocki responded by stripping Zelensky of the country’s highest honor, the Order of the White Eagle, prompting several top Ukrainian officials, including Sybiha, to return their Polish awards.
“Therefore, in light of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s consent to name one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ‘Heroes of the UPA,’ and after consulting with the Chapter, I have decided to revoke the Order of the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine,” the Polish President Nawrocki said in his statement.
After meeting Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Nawrocki’s political opponent from the ruling party, Sybiha said that he “proposed a package of anti-crisis steps.”
He added that the proposals call for facilitating talks between historians and inviting religious leaders from both nations to engage in dialogue.
“I reaffirmed… that the Ukrainian military’s choice of unit name carried no anti-Polish intent,” he said.
The Polish foreign ministry said, “The ministers underlined their common commitment to develop tools for historical dialogue.” They agreed that “de-escalating tensions” and economic cooperation were essential “to fully exploit the potential of the Polish-Ukrainian partnership.”
During World War I, Germany’s aggression led traditional rivals France and Britain to set aside their differences and unite against Hitler-led Germany. In World War -2 the menace of Nazi Germany drove even the ideologically opposed United States and Soviet Union into an uneasy wartime alliance.
Something similar is happening between Poland and Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has compelled the two neighbors, whose relationship has historically been marked by deep mistrust and conflict, to cooperate closely in the face of a shared threat.
Interestingly, Poland has now emerged as one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters.
Why Poland Rejected MiG-29s For Ukraine
On July 1, Poland announced it won’t transfer additional MiG-29 jets to Ukraine because Kyiv did not provide information on drone production technology.
Poland was one of the first countries to donate fighter jets to Ukraine.
In March 2023, Poland donated 14 MiG-29 Fulcrums to Ukraine.
“I proposed what I believe was a very partnership-based approach. MiGs in exchange for drones. The Ukrainians initially agreed, but they did not honor this arrangement, so there will be no MiGs for Ukraine because Poland does not have drones or the capability to use them,” Polish defense minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz told the Polish Polsat News outlet.
Poland’s decision to withhold the transfer came after Kyiv reportedly backed out of an agreement to share drone technology.
Nawrocki went further, saying that Poland will not support Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. The decision was taken after Zelensky named a military unit after an army battalion that took part in the massacres of Poles during the Second World War.
Poland’s decision to transfer two more MiG-29 jets—despite initial refusals, stalled technology deals, and historical tensions—highlights a familiar wartime logic. Just as Germany once pushed France and Britain, and later the US and the USSR, into uneasy alliances, Russia’s invasion has brought together Poland and Ukraine to keep Moscow at bay.
By ET Online Desk
