Poland Halts MiG-29 Transfer to Ukraine After Deal Falls Apart.

Poland's Decision to Phase Out MiG-29s

According to Espreso.tv: Instead of sending its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Poland's Ministry of Defense has opted to gradually retire them from active service. This shift in policy follows the collapse of earlier agreements with Kyiv. In 2023, Poland had already delivered 14 MiG-29s to Ukraine, but any further transfers were contingent on Poland receiving its own new American F-35 fighters.

The F-35 Fighter Jet Contract

A contract for 32 F-35 jets was signed in 2020, with the first deliveries expected to reach Poland by late 2024. Warsaw had originally planned to hand over its remaining MiG-29s to Ukraine after taking possession of the new aircraft, but the conditions for that plan have now changed.

“Ukraine apparently failed to share drone technologies as it had promised.” — Pawel Zalewski, Poland's Deputy Minister of Defense

This failure is cited as a key reason the jet transfer agreement was never completed. Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, another senior Polish defense official, stressed that

“The reason is that the exchange agreement never went into effect.”

Phasing out the MiG-29s shows that Poland is recalibrating its defense priorities in anticipation of the upcoming F-35 deliveries. It may also reflect a change in how Warsaw approaches cooperation with Ukraine, especially when pledged technology exchanges fail to materialize. As a key ally of Ukraine, Poland is now focusing on modernizing its own military forces, a decision that could shape future support for its neighboring country.