Slovakia may consider giving Ukraine Russian-built warplanes

Slovakia may consider donating its fleet of Soviet-era MiG warplanes to Ukraine, the Slovak defense minister said yesterday.

Standing alongside his British counterpart Ben Wallace, Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said “we can discuss the future” of his country’s 11 MiG-29 fighter jets after they’re grounded “most probably” by the end of August.

Slovakia has already negotiated with NATO allies the Czech Republic and Poland to monitor Slovak air space from the beginning of September.

“No decision has been made yet, no discussions are taking place as of now and we’re ready to discuss that later on,” said Nad.

Wallace said Britain isn’t now considering giving Ukraine warplanes, but would offer Slovakia fighter jets to help guard its airspace.

Since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, Ukraine has urged Western allies to provide it with warplanes to challenge Russia’s air superiority.

However, the U.S. and its allies have been reluctant to give Ukraine the fighter jets it asks for, fearing it would provoke an escalatory response from Moscow.