Foreign aircraft for Ukraine: there will be no deliveries
MiG-29 fighters from the Polish Air Force. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of Poland
One of these days it was possible to observe how a new plan of military-technical assistance to Ukraine was proposed and soon fell apart. The European Union was going to transfer a certain number of combat aircraft to it, but it soon became clear that this would not be possible. In addition, such deliveries would have no practical meaning.
Help Plan
On the evening of February 27, EU representative Josep Borrell announced that the countries of the organization were going to send assistance to Ukraine in the form of military and other products in the amount of about 500 million euros. Among other things, the Ukrainian army was asked to transfer a certain number of combat aircraft. At the same time, the number of such equipment, its types and other details of the plan were not disclosed.
New information appeared on the night of March 1. The press service of the Naval Forces of Ukraine revealed the expected volumes of supplies and features of the deployment of new equipment. Thus, it was reported that Bulgaria would transfer 16 MiG-29 fighters and 14 Su-25 attack aircraft. Poland and Slovakia were said to be going to transfer 28 and 12 MiG-29 fighters respectively. Only 70 units. technology.
Polish fighter in flight. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of Poland
In connection with the decommissioning of all major military airfields on the territory of Ukraine, it is proposed to deploy aircraft in Poland. It was alleged that the personnel had already gone to a neighboring state to master the technology. Such basing will have to protect them from a preemptive strike from the Russian armed forces - as happened a few days ago with the Ukrainian Air Force.
Reason for doubt
It should be noted that news from the Ukrainian Navy did not receive confirmation from sources, and also had several dubious features. In the first place, it is not clear why the Navy is reporting aid to the Air Force. However, this is quite understandable, given the disorder in the systems and control loops of the Ukrainian army.
The only countries in Europe (with the exception of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) that still have MiG-29s and Su-25s are named as senders of aid. At the same time, in the list of equipment preparing for the transfer, they mentioned literally the entire tactical Aviation Bulgaria and Slovakia, including combat aircraft and cars "on a joke".
Bulgarian MiG-29s. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
In fact, the press service of the Navy claimed that the entire Eastern European (NATO) fleet of Soviet MiG-29s and Su-25s would be transferred to Ukraine. And some states, having provided assistance to the Ukrainian Air Force, will even be left without their own tactical aviation. Not surprisingly, such news was not confirmed by other sources, and then was denied.
Help canceled
It is curious that the first refutation appeared a few hours before the “news” from the Ukrainian Navy. On the evening of February 28, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that his country did not accept the proposal to supply aircraft to Ukraine. Bulgaria has a small number of combat aircraft, which is barely enough even for its own defense. Therefore, fighters and attack aircraft will not be given to anyone.
On the afternoon of March 1, after the Ukrainian publication, a meeting took place between Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. At a press conference after this event, the Polish president said that his state was not going to send its aircraft to Ukraine. The transfer of such equipment would make Poland and NATO a party to the conflict, which they do not want. In this regard, there are no Polish aircraft in the Ukrainian sky.
Bulgarian attack aircraft Su-25. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria
On the evening of March 1, the Minister of Defense of Slovakia expressed his position. Yaroslav Nagy called the information about the transfer of fighters disinformation. Moreover, Slovakia does not plan to provide assistance to Ukraine in the form of military equipment. It will be supplied only with ammunition, fuel and humanitarian supplies.
Thus, literally in a day, the three countries mentioned in the latest reports denied the information from Ukrainian sources. This means that the list from the Ukrainian Navy was an elementary lie of propagandists, which has no connection with reality.
It should be noted that along with the list of equipment, the plans of the European Union for the supply of combat aircraft are falling apart. Ukraine can quickly put into operation and use only Soviet-made equipment, which only Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia have left. The supply of NATO-made aircraft does not make sense and will lead to a quick and useless loss of valuable materiel.
Useless plans
Still, it is worth considering a hypothetical scenario in which Ukraine received Eastern European fighters and attack aircraft, and also uses foreign airfields. It is easy to see that in such a situation, the Ukrainian Air Force does not receive any advantages, but at the same time they again face great risks.
The deployment of aircraft at foreign airfields makes it possible to save them from destruction on the ground. However, such a measure removes airfields from the intended areas for performing combat missions. As a result, the MiG-29 and Su-25, even with maximum refueling and external tanks, will only be able to operate in Western and Central Ukraine. The large eastern part of the country will remain uncovered.
MiG-29 Slovak Air Force. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia
However, aircraft are unlikely to be able to use their potential in terms of flight range. By now, the Russian army has gained complete superiority in the Ukrainian skies. Immediately after crossing the Polish border, the aircraft will be taken for escort and destroyed in the shortest possible time - long before reaching the lines of solving a combat mission.
The active grouping of the Russian armed forces is covered by a developed military air defense system with all the necessary components. Even breaking through some defense systems, an attack aircraft or fighter will be shot down by the next echelon. The probability of defeat also increases due to the lack of modern weapons - obsolete weapon will force the aircraft to enter the zone of destruction of short-range complexes or even MANPADS.
A question of loss
Until recently, Ukraine did not have the most modern, but rather numerous tactical aviation. According to the World Air Forces 2022 directory, the Ukrainian Air Force had 43 MiG-29 and 26 Su-27 fighters, as well as 12 Su-24 bombers and 17 Su-25 attack aircraft. All this equipment was built back in the USSR, but some of it was later upgraded.
Fighter in the air. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia
The vast majority of Ukrainian tactical aviation combat units were destroyed on the ground, along with airfields and infrastructure, during the first strikes of the Russian armed forces. Nearly all of the remaining aircraft were shot down or hit while parked in the following days. Only individual machines remain in service, but their fate is predictable. The Ukrainian Air Force actually ceased to exist as a full-fledged combat-ready structure. They managed to save their personnel, but without materiel, this no longer matters much.
In the current situation, Ukraine does not have any opportunity to independently restore its Air Force and return it to solving combat missions. The only way out of this situation lies in foreign aid, as recently announced by the leadership of the European Union. However, almost immediately it became clear that none of the countries with suitable equipment was ready or unwilling to share it.
Complete rout
Thus, at the moment the situation with European aircraft for Ukraine looks quite unambiguous. The Ukrainian Air Force will not receive new equipment and will not be based on foreign airfields. Accordingly, they cease to exist as a combat-ready type of armed forces that could participate in battles and influence their course.
However, there is nothing wrong with this. In the current situation, any weakening of the Ukrainian armed forces contributes to the speedy completion of the Special Operation for demilitarization and the establishment of peace - both in the protected Donbass and in the rest of Ukraine.
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