Slovakia to send 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine
Two Polish MiG-29s sit at an airbase in Malbork, Poland, in this file photo from August 2021.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Slovakia’s government approved a measure to send its Soviet-era MiG jets to Ukraine, officials said. The jets are in varying states of readiness and were retired last summer, so will likely need substantial maintenance to be operational.
The Eastern European NATO member announced it would send 13 of the jets to Ukraine, one day after Poland said it would supply Kyiv with four of its jets. Ukraine has long requested fighter jets in order to protect its skies against Russian attacks and combat Russian forces in the country.
“#Slovak gov. just approved sending 13 #MiG29s to #Ukraine! Promises must be kept&when ZelenskyyUa asked for more #weapons incl. fighter jets, I said we’ll do our best. Glad others’re doing the same,” Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger wrote on Twitter.
NATO allies’ granting of Kyiv’s request more than a year into the war signals a significant shift in their willingness to send Ukraine advanced weaponry that could further provoke Russia as well as give Ukrainian forces a major edge in the fighting.
— Natasha Turak
Russian and Wagner Group forces gaining ground in Bakhmut, but broader offensive is slowing: UK MoD
Russian and Wagner Group forces have gained ground in the embattled city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where brutal fighting has continued for months, Britain’s Ministry of Defense wrote in its daily intelligence update.
“In recent days, Russian and Wagner Group forces have obtained footholds west of the Bakhmutka River in the centre of the contested Donbas town of Bakhmut. Over the preceding week, the river had marked the front line. Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to defend the west of the town,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.
However, it added, “more broadly across the front line, Russia is conducting some of the lowest rates of local offensive…
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