The German government allows Poland to supply fighter jets from old GDR stock

The German government allows Poland to transfer five MiG-29 fighter jets from the GDR’s old stock to Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia. An application that only arrived in Berlin on Thursday was approved within hours. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) welcomed the decision in a statement. “That shows: you can count on Germany!”, he explained. These are planes that Germany gave to Poland in 2003. The Bundeswehr had taken over from former stocks of the GDR’s National People’s Army (NVA).

On the sidelines of a visit to German soldiers in Mali, West Africa, Pistorius initially confirmed that Poland’s request had been received. The Federal Chancellery is currently working with the Ministry of Defense and other interested parties. “And the promise is that an answer will be sent to our Polish partners within a day,” said the defense minister.

In faraway Mali, however, he initially declined to say whether he supported the approval of Poland’s application. He has an opinion on that. “But you don’t have to make public every opinion you have. You can imagine my opinion,” Pistorius said. The SPD politician is considered a staunch advocate to support Ukraine by any means necessary.

The FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who accompanies the defense minister on his trip to Africa, was much more blunt. “We definitely have to approve that,” said the chairman of the Bundestag’s defense committee. She expected approval from the federal government. “I assume that the Federal Chancellery will not develop cardiac arrhythmias. And if so, we will support you so that your heart beats calmly again.”

In the early 2000s, Germany sold 22 MiG-29 fighter jets, which the Bundeswehr had taken over from the NVA after the fall of the Berlin Wall, to Poland. Polish President Andrzej Duda’s security adviser, Jacek Siewiera, said in late March that the Polish Air Force still has a dozen of them today. The contract for the transfer of the aircraft stipulated that written permission from Germany was required for transfer to third parties. Hence the compulsion to make a decision in Berlin.

The fact that it was complied with so quickly is probably also due to the fact that the federal government did not want to face criticism from its Eastern allies during the first year of the war for delaying it too long. “Too late, too little” (too late, too little) was a common accusation against Berlin.

In March, Poland announced the delivery of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine to help the country fight the Russian onslaught. Initially, however, no machines were delivered from former GDR stocks, that is now changing.

President Duda announced last week that his country has already delivered eight MiG-29s to Ukraine. Four of the planes were given to Kiev “in recent months”, he said after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Warsaw. Four other MiG-29s were “recently” delivered to the neighboring country attacked by Russia. In addition, six MiG-29s are currently being prepared for delivery.

Other MiG-29s remained in service with the Polish armed forces for the time being, Duda said. Only if they are successively replaced by modern fighter jets, which Poland has already ordered in South Korea and the US, can these machines also be left to Ukraine.

Duda also said on the occasion: “We are setting an example for the other countries and breaking their stubbornness and resistance when it comes to the supply of arms.” Berlin was able to refute the charge of stubbornness with the lightning decision of the MiG-29. (sda/dpa)