Poland Says It Is Ready to Give All of Its MIG-29 Jets to U.S. Immediately

The Polish government is prepared to immediately place all of its MIG-29 fighter jets under the charge of the U.S.

The decision came after Polish authorities consulted President Andrzej Duda and the nation's government, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday. The jets, which were designed in the Soviet Union, would be sent to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany and would be at the "disposal of the Government of the United States of America," the statement said.

The announcement came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a plea this past weekend for more fighter planes to help defend Ukraine from Russia's attacks. Also over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was "looking actively" into the possibility of the U.S. supplying planes to Poland if the European nation decided to send some of its planes to Ukraine.

That potential move sparked warnings from Russia, which said it would consider sending warplanes to Ukraine from neighboring countries an "engagement in the military conflict."

But Poland's announcement that it would not provide planes to Ukraine but to the U.S. was reportedly not entirely expected.

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said that Poland's offer was not "pre-consulted," according to Reuters.

The Polish ministry said that the deployment would be free of charge and requested that other NATO allies that own MIG-29 jets take similar action.

"At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used [aircraft] with corresponding operational capabilities. Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions of purchase of the planes," the ministry's statement said.

Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly MIG-29s, and in the original deal under discussion, the U.S. would have backfilled the missing planes in Poland's fleet with American-made F-16s.

Poland has been aiding Ukraine with defensive weapons but is seemingly drawing the line at supplying warplanes, which Russia would be expected to take more seriously.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during a Tuesday press conference in Oslo, Norway, that "any decisions on delivering offensive weapons have to be taken by the entire NATO and on a unanimous basis," according to Reuters.

"This is why we are ready to give all of our fleet of jet fighters to Ramstein, but we are not ready to make any moves on our own because, as I said, we are not party to this war," he added.

In an email to Newsweek, the Pentagon acknowledged Poland's offer but had no further comment.

"We've seen the Polish government's announcement. We have nothing to offer at this time," a spokesperson said.

Newsweek reached out to the State Department for comment on Poland's announcement but did not hear back by publication time.

Update 03/08/22, 4:45 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background, as well as a comment from the Pentagon.