Germany allows Poland to send five MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine

"I am happy to announce that we can allow our Polish partners to send five MiG-29 fighter jets from the former GDR army stocks," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told journalists during his stay in Mali, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He emphasized that the German government considered Warsaw's request for permission to transfer MiG-29 jets on the same day it arrived, Thursday, April 13.

The fact that everything happened so quickly "shows that Germany can be relied on," the minister noted.

As reported, 20 years ago, Germany gave Poland 22 fighters of this type from the stocks of the former GDR army.

Back in March, Poland sent several MiG-29s to Ukraine, but those were not fighters it received from Germany for 1 euro. Despite the nominal price, a transfer agreement was concluded containing an end-user clause, so Germany had to give permission for re-export.

In 1990, the Bundeswehr received a total of 24 MiG-29s from the former GDR army.

President of Poland Andrzej Duda stated on April 5 that Poland had already transferred eight MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine and was preparing to transfer six more fighters of this type.