Ukraine was promised planes, Russia threatens two NATO countries

Russia has threatened to destroy any warplanes given to Ukraine by its allies after two countries pledged planes.

Slovakia became the second NATO country to pledge some MiG-29 jets to Kiev on Friday, a day after Poland.

Ukraine has asked Western countries for modern aircraft, but due to long training times, these are only seen as long-term options.

It sees the additional aircraft as important for its defense and possible counterattacks, a year after the invasion of Russia.

Other NATO countries are considering sending aircraft such as the MiG-29, a Soviet-era model that Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the plans, saying the plane would not affect the outcome of Moscow's "special military operation," as it calls the war.

He said that they will only "bring additional misfortune to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people".

"Of course, during the special military operation, all these devices will be subject to destruction," the spokesman added.

The Polish and Slovak pledges are a positive move for Ukraine, which has more pilots than planes, but will not make a decisive difference.

The Ukrainians say what they really need are US-made F-16 fighter jets.

Yuri Sak, a senior Ukrainian defense adviser, says fourth-generation fighters have better capabilities.

It still seems unlikely that Ukraine will receive them, at least for now, as it would take time to train Ukrainian pilots on Western aircraft.

Western military officers remain skeptical of modern fighters. Their focus is to help Ukraine win the battle on the ground.

Linjat e frontit janë të mbushura me sisteme të mbrojtjes ajrore në të dy anët. Forca ajrore ruse është shumë më e madhe se ajo e Ukrainës dhe nuk ka mundur të marrë kontrollin e qiejve.

Në fillim të pushtimit të plotë të Rusisë, Ukraina besohej se kishte rreth 120 avionë të aftë luftarakë, kryesisht MiG-29 dhe Su-27 të vjetëruar.

Të premten, kryeministri sllovak Eduard Heger shkroi në Twitter se qeveria e tij kishte miratuar dërgimin e 13 MiG-29 të vendit në Ukrainë.

Ai tha se “premtimet duhet të mbahen” dhe se ishte i kënaqur që të tjerët po i përgjigjeshin thirrjes së presidentit ukrainas Volodymyr Zelensky për më shumë armë.

Nuk është e qartë se sa prej avionëve sllovakë janë në funksion.

Heger tha se Sllovakia do t’i dërgojë gjithashtu Ukrainës një pjesë të sistemit të saj të mbrojtjes ajrore Kub.

On Thursday, Poland promised four MiG-29s, to be delivered in the coming days.

As with its promise of Leopard tanks, Poland has broken a barrier. This was a step no one was prepared to take a year ago.

News of the pledges came amid Russian media reports that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had decorated the pilots involved in an incident earlier this week.

Washington has condemned Russia's actions, which it says one of its Su-27 jets shot down the drone, as reckless, but Moscow says the drone failed on its own.