The announced transfer of MiG-29 fighters by Slovakia and Poland to the Armed Forces of Ukraine looks like an attempt to get rid of old weapons, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It seems that these countries are engaged in the recycling of old unnecessary equipment in this way," he said.

At the same time, the representative of the Kremlin stressed that the supply of fighters to Ukraine will not affect the course of the conflict.

"Of course, the supply of this military equipment, as we have repeatedly said, cannot affect the outcome of a special military operation, but it can cause additional troubles for Ukraine itself and the Ukrainian people," Peskov said.

He added that the transfer of the MiG-29 to Kiev is further evidence that a number of NATO member countries "are increasing the level of their direct involvement in the conflict." However, Dmitry Peskov emphasized, all the equipment supplied to Ukraine will be destroyed.

"Of course, during a special military operation, all this equipment will be subject to destruction," the presidential spokesman concluded.

Three fighters without engines

On the eve of the government of Slovakia approved the transfer to Ukraine of 13 MiG-29 fighters. This was announced on March 17 by Prime Minister Eduard Heger. At the same time, of the 13 aircraft intended for Ukraine, three fighters will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine without engines. In his statement, Heger stressed that Bratislava coordinates the process of transferring the MiG-29 with its allies, in particular with Poland. In addition, Kiev will receive elements of the Kub air defense system from Bratislava.

  • Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov
  • RIA Novosti
  • © Alexey Nikolsky

It is worth noting that Slovakia provides assistance to Ukraine not free of charge. For the supply of the MiG-29, Bratislava expects to receive compensation in the amount of $ 900 million According to the acting Minister of Defense of the Republic Yaroslav Nadya, the republic will receive $ 700 million of this amount in the form of military equipment from the United States, and the rest in the form of cash tranches of the European Union.

The receipt of funds from the EU fund is expected no earlier than October 2023, Nagy added. The money that will go to the budget of the Ministry of Defense is planned to be used to purchase military equipment or ammunition.

Nagy also said that the transfer of aircraft to Ukraine will take several weeks. Now Bratislava is negotiating this with Kiev and its allies. At the same time, he did not name the exact timing of the transfer of equipment for safety reasons. According to him, the fighters are still on the territory of the republic.

The Russian Embassy in Slovakia condemned the transfer of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine.

"The transfer of Soviet- and Russian-made military equipment to Kiev is illegal from a legal point of view, since the relevant Russian-Slovak agreements unequivocally exclude the transfer of weapons and military equipment (weapons and military equipment). - RT) to third states without the permission of the producing country, "the diplomats said.

Earlier, Poland reported on the transfer of several MiG-29 to Ukraine. On March 16, President Andrzej Duda promised that in the coming days Kiev will receive the first cars. According to him, now Warsaw has more than ten such aircraft. At the first stage, four MiG-29s will be transferred to Kiev, and the rest of the fighters will be sent to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after the maintenance of aircraft.

Duda said that Warsaw had received these MiG-29s from the GDR. According to him, aircraft of this type are still used by the Polish armed forces, but the republic plans to stop their operation.

However, in order to transfer to Ukraine the fighters received from the GDR, Poland must obtain permission from the German leadership. At the same time, as the official representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers Steffen Hebestreit said at a briefing on March 17, Germany has not yet received relevant requests from Poland.

Kiev demands F-16

It is noteworthy that in Ukraine the decision of Poland and Slovakia was perceived without much enthusiasm. Thus, the representative of the command of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuri Ignat called the Polish and Slovak MiG-29 outdated and ineffective.

"The Soviet equipment that we have in service – these miGs – are not effective weapons against cruise missiles and drones. Because the equipment there is morally obsolete: both missiles and on-board radar stations. They cannot effectively carry out these functions, "TASS quoted him as saying.

  • Greece's F-16
  • AP
  • © Thanassis Stavrakis

Ignat added that Ukraine currently has five brigades of tactical fighter aircraft. Of these, two consist of Su-27, and three are made of MiG-29. However, the potential of the Ukrainian Air Force, according to him, is still insufficient to organize a counteroffensive.

Earlier, Kiev repeatedly demanded to transfer to it military aircraft produced by Western countries. In particular, Ukraine sent a request to the Netherlands to receive American F-16 fighters. This was announced in February by the Minister of Defense of the Kingdom Kaisa Ollongren. At the same time, she added that such a request is not easy to fulfill and the Netherlands needs consultations with allies on this issue.

The topic of the transfer of Western fighters in recent months has been actively discussed by politicians and the media in the EU and the United States, but so far no Western country has announced its intention to transfer such machines to Kiev.

According to analysts, the decisive role in this matter is played by the opinion of Washington, which has repeatedly stated that it does not plan to supply Ukraine with fighters. On March 16, this position was reaffirmed by John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council. At the same time, he supported the decision of Poland and Slovakia to send Ukraine the MiG-29, saying that this would expand Kiev's capabilities.

"Direct aggression of NATO countries"

According to the expert of the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies Vladimir Bruter, the transfer of the MiG-29 to Kiev can to a certain extent strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but will not fundamentally change the situation on the battlefield.

"This can at least partially strengthen the Ukrainian military group. But I don't think that's going to fundamentally change anything. But, definitely, any supply of weapons matters, otherwise it simply would not be supplied, "the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

In turn, Professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Vinokurov believes that for Slovakia and Poland, the transfer of fighters to Ukraine is at the same time an opportunity to get rid of old equipment and at the same time act in the international arena as donors to Kiev.

"Firstly, this is nothing more than an attempt to show themselves in the role of benefactors, "worried" about the state of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the future of its statehood. Secondly, this will not affect the course of the conflict, since this is an elementary attempt to get rid of those weapons that are already outdated and are subject to disposal, "the political scientist said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, the analyst agreed with the statement of Dmitry Peskov that by supplying Ukraine with military equipment, Western countries are increasingly drawn into the conflict.

"First, they supply equipment and weapons, and then there may be an escalation and involvement of the West directly in the confrontation. Which is actually already happening, because there are Western mercenaries in Ukraine," the expert emphasized.

At the same time, in the future, the West may move to the transfer of F-16 to Kiev. However, a number of difficulties may arise with this, analysts say. In particular, there are currently no specialists in the Armed Forces of Ukraine who could use and maintain such equipment. In addition, as Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained in a conversation with RT, the Ukrainian infrastructure does not allow receiving F-16s.

"First, they give Kiev what they themselves do not need, what is cheaper. Then they can consider the transfer of the F-16. But with the supply of F-16, not everything is so simple. According to military experts, in Ukraine, for example, there are no runways from which F-16 fighters can take off. Accordingly, it is impossible to simply transfer them to Ukraine – it is necessary to prepare the infrastructure. Because if they take off from the territory of Poland, then this will be a direct aggression of NATO countries, and the conflict will reach a completely different level, "the analyst concluded.