Slovakia hands 4 MiG fighter aircraft to Ukraine, with 9 more on their way

Slovak Republic has handed over the first four MiG-29 fighter jets out of 13 decommissioned aircraft it had promised to Ukraine.

Slovakia’s Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad announced the delivery on Facebook. “The first four MiG-29 fighter jets were safely handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and have already left the territory of the Slovak Republic,” he wrote.

“The transfer was carried out by Ukrainian pilots in coordination with the Slovak Air Force,” the minister explained. “In the following weeks,” he added, “the remaining aircraft will be handed over to Ukraine; however, for operational reasons we will not provide any further information in advance.”

Slovakia approved the plan to deliver MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine the day after a similar decision was announced by Poland. Slovak Republic is to receive $900 million in compensation for the decommissioned MiG-29 jets, including “state-of-the-art military equipment” from the United States.