Polish President Donald Tusk says Poland is prepared to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, following discussions with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Poland currently has these aircraft and is ready to pass them to Kyiv, Tusk said at a joint press conference with Zelensky.
He said the Ukrainian and Polish presidents agreed to work “flexibly” on the handover.
“I know Ukraine needs various types of air defense, including certain kinds of missiles. We can’t help with everything. But if MiGs are needed, Poland is ready to deliver the planes this minute. We talked about a reciprocal exchange. Ukraine is ready for this swap. We’re talking about Ukrainian drones, because we want to build effective anti-drone defense in Poland,” Tusk said.
According to him, Zelensky noted there are other forms of security assistance Poland could provide to Ukraine.
Tusk did not say whether other equipment could be sent instead of the MiG-29s, but promised to discuss the issue with his defense minister upon returning to Poland and provide an answer no later than Monday.
Ukraine’s Air Force could receive an additional batch of MiG-29s from Poland’s armed forces, as the aircraft are outdated and are being replaced with newer models.
Zelensky said Ukrainians confirmed receive a batch of 6–8 aircraft that would otherwise go to a museum or be scrapped.
In September 2025, Ukraine’s Air Force expanded its combat fleet with MiG-29 fighters that previously belonged to Azerbaijan.
Earlier, the Air Force and Ukrainian troops highlighted the value of the MiG-29 in shooting down Shahed kamikaze drones and missiles from the Russian Armed Forces. In the first year of the Russia-Ukraine war, pilots used R-73 and R-27R air-to-air missiles and a 30 mm cannon. Over time, the jets were modernized to carry Western weapons systems, including AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and JDAM precision-guided munitions that, depending on the variant, can strike targets up to 70 km away. MiG-29s have also launched AASM Hammer munitions, which have been used to hit a Russian command post in the occupied part of Kherson region.
In September 2025, photos appeared online of a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 fitted with KAB guided bombs, reportedly destined for Russian positions on an unspecified sector of the front.
