Slovakia joins Poland by sending 13 Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine

Slovakia will send a batch of 13 Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine that its Air Force had not used since last Summer.

Slovak Prime Minister, Eduard Heger, announced on Twitter today, Friday, March 17, that his country will be sending a batch of 13 Mig.29 fighter jets to Ukraine. The aircraft will be used to help Kyiv ‘defend itself from Russia’. He stated: “Slovakia has just approved the shipment of 13 MIG 29 to Ukraine. Promises must be kept”.

In that message, the head of government recalled that when Ukrainian President Volodimyr Zelenskyy asked him for more military aid, he assured him that he would do everything possible. As a result, Slovakia becomes the second nation to make the decision to supply such hardware to Ukraine, following Poland’s move yesterday, Thursday 16.

“Military aid is key so that Ukraine can defend itself and defend all of Europe against Russia”, Heger said in his social media message. Zelenskyy asked Slovakia in early January to hand over its Russian-made MIG-29 fighters.

#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. #Military aid’s🔑to ensure🇺🇦can defend itself&the entire #Europe against #Russia

— Eduard Heger (@eduardheger) March 17, 2023

“I call @ZelenskyyUa about the Slovakian gov. decision to send 13 MiGs. We support brave people of #Ukraine who fight against #RussianAggression. They need tools to defend their homeland – without that, there will be neither #peace nor #justice. I’ve accepted his invitation to visit Ukraine soon”, Heger posted.

I call @ZelenskyyUa about 🇸🇰 gov. decision to send 13 MiGs. We support brave people of #Ukraine who fight against #RussianAggression. They need tools to defend their homeland – without that there will be neither #peace nor #justice. I’ve accepted his invitation to visit 🇺🇦 soon. pic.twitter.com/ftsdBeYEmY

— Eduard Heger (@eduardheger) March 17, 2023

At that time, Heger was already prepared to give a positive response to Ukraine’s request. “You are not only our neighbour, but our friend. And it is in our interest and in the interest of European security, to help you. We will study your request, but you can count on our help”, the Slovak politician told Zelenskyy.

Slovakia has a fleet of 14 MIG-29 fighters but it has not used them since last summer due to a lack of maintenance. This work was previously carried out by a Russian entity. Those fighters should have been operational until 2024 when the delivery of 14 F-16 aircraft from the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin is expected, as reported by larazon.es.

Until then, it will be the job of Jas-39 Gripen fighters of the Czech Republic Air Force to monitor the country’s airspace. Slovakia has been a NATO member since 2004. Poland announced yesterday that it will send four MiG 29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the ‘next few days’ to support the country in its fight against the Russian invasion.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.