WARSAW, March 10 (AP) — Officials in Poland and Slovakia are urging their allies to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, saying they are ready to send their Soviet-built MiG-29 jet fighters to Kiev as part of an international coalition.
It is unclear, however, whether any other Western supporters of Ukraine are prepared to take this step.
“I think it’s time for a decision. Ukrainian people are dying. We can really help them,” Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nader said on Facebook on Thursday. “It’s inhumane and irresponsible.”
Slovak and Polish officials had previously issued appeals, but have repeated them in recent days. Both countries are NATO members.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said on CNN on Wednesday that Poland is ready to jointly supply MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine with other countries.
Nader also said it was an issue he and his Polish counterpart discussed at a meeting in Sweden on Wednesday and they came to an agreement on the matter.
Poland “is ready to hand over our MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine as part of an international coalition,” the Polish Ministry of Defense said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.
Ukraine has been asking the West for fighter jets to bolster its defenses as the war enters its second year. While Kiev has secured promises of tanks, some of which have already arrived, there is still no sign that major powers like the US and UK will agree to send their warplanes. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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