Slovakia unanimously approved deliveries of Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets and the Kub air defense system to Ukraine after Poland announced it.

Poland became the first NATO member to announce on Thursday it is deploying more than a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine to counter superior Russian air power during the ongoing fighting on the eastern Ukrainian front. Soviet warplanes will be sent to Ukraine via Warsaw "in the coming days", President Andrzej Duda told a news conference, encouraging other EU member states to follow suit. The Polish Prime Minister called the number of planes he wanted to send between 11 and 19. "They are in the last years of operation but are in good technical condition," said Duda, who was the first leader of a NATO Member State sent German aircraft. Leopard 2 tanks in Ukraine, he said.

EU member states ready to send jets despite US refusal.Acting Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger told a press conference that the delivery will also include spare parts for equipment and missiles. "Our government is on the right side of history" by providing Ukraine with warplanes requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Slovakia's interim leader noted. Heger, who lost a no-confidence vote in 2022, also reiterated that he was committed to providing whatever arms support Kiev needs with the unanimous approval of

member states.

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Ukraine has requested American-made F-16 fighter jets, and while Britain is training Ukrainian pilots to fly advanced fighter jets, the Biden government has repeatedly turned Kiev down to varying degrees. In a previous interview, US President Joe Biden ruled out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, saying that the Kiev Air Force "doesn't need" F-16 multirole stealth fighters.Biden noted that his administration has ruled out sending fighter jets "for now," citing discussions with the Department of Defense [DoD], the Pentagon and the State Department. Despite growing Ukrainian demand for fighter jets ahead of Russia's long-awaited spring offensive, Biden told ABC in an interview that President Zelenskyy "doesn't need F-16 fighter jets."

"No, he doesn't need an F-16 right now," Biden said when asked if his administration would send them. Biden's outright refusal to send fighter jets to Ukraine comes despite strong pressure from European allies, mainly from neighboring Poland to Kiev, to send planes to Ukraine's air force. It's unclear if the United States has changed its stance on sending fighter jets to Kiev as its European allies back down from a prospect rejected during the first

days of the conflict.