Poland offers to defend Slovakia's airspace if it provides MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine

Amid the relentless war in Eastern Europe, Poland on Friday announced that it is ready to defend Slovakia's airspace if it provides MiG-29 fighter planes to war-torn Ukraine. Earlier this month, Slovakia stated that it might consider supplying the planes to help Ukraine defend itself against invading Russian forces if alternative airspace protection of its own air space could be secured. "I got a confirmation that Poland is ready to take care of Slovakia's air space from the moment Slovakia decides to ground the Mig-29 jets," Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad stated at a joint press conference along with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Błaszczak, Sky News reported. 

According to Nad, legislative steps must be in place for such a move, and Slovakia is working on this. Meanwhile, Poland's defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak stated that his country may draw on its experience regulating the Baltic states' airspace. "These duties will be carried out from the territory of Poland... As a rule, we will expand the scope of operation of the Polish duty group that uses F-16 aircraft," Blaszczak remarked. However, both leaders did not specify when Poland's operation in Slovak airspace would begin.

Poland & Ukraine signs Memorandum to boost Kyiv's railway cooperation

Last week, the Prime Ministers of Ukraine and Poland signed a Memorandum to boost Ukraine's railway cooperation. The agreement is intended to boost Ukrainian rail freight to European Union (EU) and global markets across Europe. Poland has also announced to assist Ukraine with weapons worth around PLN 7 billion (over Rs 12,422 crore). The latest announcement from Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki came after holding a meeting with Ukrainian Premier Denys Shmyhal on April 23. Furthermore, the Polish Prime Minister also assured his Ukrainian counterpart of providing all kinds of possible support amid this tough time.

Poland continues to assist Ukraine, provides 200 T-72 tanks

It is worth mentioning here that Poland continues to assist Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, announcing the delivery of more than 200 T-72 tanks to the country. According to the reports by Information Radio Agency (IAR), Poland has sent several hundred infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in addition to tanks. Ukraine also reportedly received a number of weapons from Poland, including 2C1 self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers. This comes after reports surfaced a few weeks ago that Poland had delivered the first cargo of Soviet-designed T-72 tanks to Ukraine.

Image: Facebook/@Jaroslav Nad/@Mariusz Błaszczak/Pixabay