“Following the announcement by Poland and Slovakia to supply fighter jets to Ukraine, Russia responded with anger on Friday (March 17) and stated that the planes would be destroyed, according to the Kremlin.”
“The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, stated to journalists that providing military equipment to Ukraine, as repeatedly mentioned before, would not alter the outcome of their military operation. He further added that all such equipment would be destroyed, using the official term for Moscow’s military intervention.”
“Moscow has consistently expressed anger towards the West’s decision to supply weapons to Ukraine, which it has accused of prolonging the conflict. Following Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February of last year, its forces made initial gains, but later had to retreat from large areas of land. The retreat has been attributed to the combined efforts of Ukrainian forces and the assistance provided by Western countries in the form of both humanitarian aid and weaponry.”
“Ukraine’s European supporters had refrained from supplying fighter jets to the country due to concerns about escalating the conflict. However, Slovakia and Poland have now committed to providing fighter jets to Ukraine.”
“On Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger informed journalists that his country would provide Ukraine with 13 of its MiG-29 jets, and a Kub air defense system would also be delivered from Bratislava to Ukraine.”
“Heger stated that the purpose of providing the MiG-29 jets to Ukraine was to safeguard civilians against the numerous bombs that were causing harm to their homes and ultimately leading to the loss of lives in the country.”
“On Thursday, Poland announced that it would be sending four Soviet-made MiG-29 jets to Ukraine in the upcoming days.”
“Ukraine has been persistently seeking fighter jets from its Western allies, with a primary request for modern F-16s made in the United States.”