Slovakia has joined Poland in making an official decision to provide Ukraine with Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets, the two NATO members becoming the first countries to commit to delivering tactical jets to Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Slovakia ceased flying its MiG-29s last summer and the possibility of transferring these jets to Ukraine had been raised previously, but the earlier plan had collapsed amid U.S. pressure.
“Today, the government decided and unanimously approved an international agreement [on the donation of MiG-29s],” Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger said. “The process of handing over these fighter jets is closely coordinated with the Polish side, with Ukraine and, of course, with other allies,” he added.
That last point indicates that Slovakia is now part of the coalition of countries that Poland suggested should work together to transfer MiG-29s to Ukraine from their respective stocks. A third NATO member, Bulgaria, also has stocks of the Soviet-era jets that could potentially be sent to Ukraine, although so far it’s not understood to have joined the coalition.