Poland to grow to be first NATO member to satisfy Ukraine’s more and more pressing requests for fighter jets.

President Andrzej Duda says Poland will give Ukraine 4 MiG-29 fighter jets within the coming days, a transfer that may make his nation the primary NATO member to fulfil the Ukrainian authorities’s more and more pressing requests for such plane.

Poland plans to dispatch a complete of 12 Soviet-made jets, Duda mentioned on Thursday.

“Firstly, actually throughout the subsequent few days, we’ll hand over, so far as I keep in mind, 4 plane to Ukraine in full working order,” Duda mentioned at a information convention in Warsaw with Petr Pavel, the president of the Czech Republic.

The remainder of the fighter jets can be equipped after vital checks have been accomplished, Duda mentioned.

“[They] are being ready, serviced,” he mentioned.

Duda didn’t say if different international locations can be making the identical transfer though Slovakia has mentioned it might ship MiGs that it’s not utilizing to Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Polish authorities spokesman Piotr Mueller mentioned different international locations with MiGs additionally had pledged them to Ukraine, however he didn’t identify them.

Whereas Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded together with his allies to share their fighter jets, NATO international locations have expressed hesitancy.

Earlier than Russia’s full-scale invasion in February final 12 months, Ukraine had a number of dozen MiG-29s it inherited within the collapse of the Soviet Union, however it’s unclear what number of of them stay in service after greater than a 12 months of preventing.

Duda mentioned Poland’s air drive would exchange the planes it provides to Ukraine with South Korea-made FA-50 fighters and United States-made F-35 jets.

Poland has despatched 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.