“We will view very positively the Polish request to fill the arising gaps. We did this when Warsaw first handed over T-72 tanks to Ukraine, and we sent Challenger 2 tanks to Poland. The same applies to fighters”, James Heappey, deputy head of the British defence ministry, told the German daily Die Welt.

James Heappey pointed out, however, that so far, the British have not received any request from Warsaw on this issue. In the interview, he said that the latest step taken by the Poles is a “great moment”, as Ukrainian pilots now need aircraft they know.

It may be recalled that in February, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated that Typhoon fighters could provide air cover for Eastern Bloc countries if they wanted to make up the shortfall after sending MiG-29s or other jet fighters to Ukraine.

Last week, President Andrzej Duda announced that Poland was in the process of sending four MiG-29 fighters, while the others are currently being serviced and will be successfully transferred. A total of 28 machines will be delivered. Slovakia has decided on a similar step.

The UK’s declaration of readiness to fill the gap in Poland’s air defence after the MiG-29s were handed over to Ukraine is particularly important for Poland”, emphasised Deputy Minister of National Defence Wojciech Skurkiewicz.

The Polish deputy minister noted that relations with the UK are “very close”. I will remind you that the British are present in Poland with their air defence systems. Their involvement here is considerable”, said Skurkiewicz and added that the British declaration is “particularly important” for Poland. 

He stressed that from Kyiv’s point of view, the decision of Poland and Slovakia to hand over MiGs is very important, but “it is also necessary to think about the security associated with the loss of our own equipment”.

Adrian Andrzejewski