Poland's request to transfer five Soviet-designed fighter jets to Ukraine to bolster its air power against the Russian invasion has been approved by Germany, a statement said Thursday.
The permission was needed because Germany used to own the Soviet-designed MiG-29 planes, which were part of communist East Germany’s military fleet.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the request had arrived Thursday, and that Berlin's same-day approval showed that Germany could be relied upon.
"I welcome the fact that we in the federal government have reached this decision together,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement. "This shows you can rely on Germany!”
Germany inherited 24 MiG-29 jets from the East German GDR during reunification in 1990. At the time, the aircraft were seen as among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.
In 2004, Berlin passed on 22 of the aircraft to Poland. One of the remaining two jets was destroyed in a crash while the other is on show at a museum.
Poland was an early advocate of sending fighter jets to Ukraine. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Warsaw a week ago, Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country already had provided four MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, with four more in the process of getting handed over and another six being prepared.
Zelenskyy said Poland would help form a coalition of Western powers to supply warplanes to Kyiv.
Western countries have so far been reluctant to send advanced fighter jets such as F-16s to Kyiv, but some countries have stepped in to send old MiG-29 jets that Ukraine already uses.
Slovakia, too, has pledged MiG-29s to Ukraine. The country delivered four of the jets in late March and has promised a total of 13.
Ukraine’s air force is familiar with MiG-29s and is able to use the planes right away.
Zelenskyy has lobbied Western supporters for months to provide fighter jets, anti-aircraft defense systems and other equipment and ammunition, while Ukrainian officials have spoken of preparations for an expected spring counteroffensive against Russian forces.
"Our actions will be powerful. We are preparing the guys," Zelenskyy said Thursday in his nightly address. "And we are very much looking forward to the delivery of weapons promised by our partners. We are bringing the victory as close as possible.”
Germany itself has not supplied Ukraine with jets, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has not signaled any plans to do so.
Although Germany has become continental Europe’s biggest supplier of arms to Ukraine, the German government and Scholz have faced periodic criticism, especially ahead of a decision in January to supply battle tanks, over perceived reluctance to step up aid.
