Poland has abandoned plans to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, which were expected to form part of an exchange deal involving Ukrainian drone technologies, according to Wirtualna Polska.
Poland’s Ministry of National Defence said that the MiG-29s will be gradually withdrawn from service due to the expiry of their designated service life and the absence of plans to modernise the aircraft. The timetable for their retirement will remain classified.
At the same time, the ministry stressed that the air base in Malbork, where the MiG-29s are currently stationed, will continue operating and will host both Polish and allied aircraft and helicopters as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission on the Alliance’s eastern flank.
Earlier, Poland’s Minister of National Defence, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said that Warsaw had offered Kyiv an exchange: MiG-29 fighter jets in return for drone-production technologies. According to him, Ukraine initially agreed to the proposal but later “failed to honour the agreement”. The Polish minister also linked the issue to political and historical disputes between the two countries.