Receiving MiG-29s from Poland: Ukraine's ambassador names obstacles

Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar said that the dialogue with the Polish side regarding MiG-29 fighters is ongoing, but their transfer is currently hindered by several obstacles.He said this in an interview, according to Європейська правда.

According to him, these are four aircraft that have been decommissioned, transferred from the Armed Forces to the Armaments Agency and are now there.

"They were offered to us. Our experts examined them. And these MiGs require quite serious modernization and are high-cost", Bodnar noted.

At the same time, he clarified that in the case of these aircraft, dismantling for spare parts is unlikely to work, because they are flying machines with partially used engine resources and for which there is demand in other countries.

"Therefore, in this case, a dialogue is now ongoing between the military. Whether it will be possible to find understanding regarding the upgrade of these aircraft, to a condition that is minimally possible for use in Ukraine for the defense of Ukrainian skies. Because everything comes down to money, updating and the number of necessary equipment, which is not always available in our countries, and deliveries depend on third countries. Therefore, this is a very multi-factorial story, and I would not want it to be abused. There is a clear political will on the Polish side to transfer these MiGs," Bethnar emphasized.

Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paulina Sobkowiak-Czarnecka stated last week that Ukraine has sent Warsaw a "specific proposal" regarding MiG-29 fighters.

At the end of June, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Ukraine had rejected the "MiGs for drones" agreement. A few days later, he said that this happened because of a historical dispute between Kyiv and Warsaw.

But already in July, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that reaching an agreement on this issue is real.

Later, he stated that Bulgaria would like to purchase Polish MiG-29 aircraft in which Ukraine is interested, but Warsaw still does not rule out attempts to negotiate with Kyiv.