by Zbigniew Parafianowicz details the challenges of the secret transfer of MiG-29 aircraft and the supply of other weapons to Ukraine in the book “Polska na Wojnie” (Poland at War), with excerpts published by NV.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced, at a closed NATO meeting, that his country was ready to establish a logistics base to transfer military equipment to Ukraine. This commitment was reaffirmed during the meeting of the Bucharest Nine, which would unite Central European countries in the field of security.
EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell later echoed this message, introducing the concept of Poland as a logistics hub into the international discourse.
The journalist Zbigniew Parafianowicz discusses this in his book “Polska na Wojnie” (Poland at War), extracts from which are published by NV.
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Żeszów was the center chosen to transfer weapons to the Ukrainian side.
“Americans asked us to find a location to establish such a center,” says someone from Duda’s inner circle.
“Lublin was definitely being considered. The president said it should be a city where Americans are present. The subject was clear: the center would house the American 82nd Airborne Division. Russians know not to shoot at Americans. The discussion was effectively closed.”
“It was necessary to say clearly that the security of Poland is a top priority. That’s why Żeszów was chosen. We didn’t want Russian missiles to fall near Lublin.”
The Polish leadership planned to transfer its MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine but aimed to do so in the safest way for Poland. The Polish authorities were cautious, not wanting to put their country in danger, as it was challenging to predict Russia’s reaction and capabilities at that time.
“The Americans even paid attention to Zelenskyy. He called Duda and expressed frustration at his reluctance to transfer the equipment,” the book says.
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“He asked, ‘Andrzej, why are you treating me like this?’ He said the situation was critical, and he needed the machines as soon as possible.
At the same time, the Deputy PM of Poland Jarosław Kaczyński suggested the transfer of the aircraft during a meeting in the format of Ramstein.
“In a statement to NATO countries, especially to the Americans, it was said that we are ready to hand over those MiGs at any time,” said a source close to the Polish President.
“Our pilots are being transferred to Ramstein (a city in Germany that has an aircraft in the United States, where on April 26, 2022, the first meeting of defense ministers from different countries regarding the war against Ukraine was held) .
“We don’t care who sits in these MiGs, who will be at the controls, and where they will be flying. It’s none of our business. We do not know if they will be Ukrainians or citizens of Paraguay. We don’t know anything.”
“But the Americans started to bother us. They asked him what game we were playing. We also asked what game they were playing. If they don’t like our idea, how can we understand their position? Does the Ramstein base have a different NATO category than Żeszów or Lublin? Does Germany have more protection than Poland? They didn’t answer anything.”
The White House criticized the Polish initiative to move the aircraft to Ramstein. When Zelenskyy indicated that Ukraine did not have time for such discussions, the United States began to shift blame and responsibility to Warsaw, says Parafianowicz, citing sources.
However, Duda’s team had their own unique plan to move the aircraft. The Poles decided to dismantle about a dozen of their MiGs into parts and leave them in different parts of the forest along the state border so they could retrieve the Ukrainians. And so it happened.
“The Americans asked if (the planes) could be put back together,” says one of the Polish ministers. “I replied that I think it is possible. Sullivan asked how and where they (Ukrainians) put them together. I answered, ‘In the forest.’ As it turned out later, I wasn’t even located far. The planes took off from highways. They adapted their roads to the standard of take-off and landing strips with compartments for fighters.”
As stated in the book, such roads that can serve as take-off and landing strips exist at least in Kyiv and Odesa oblasts.
“Our military says it’s impossible to put these planes back together after they’ve been taken apart,” says a high-ranking Polish official. “However, it turned out that the Ukrainians can. For them, there are no limits. They are very creative!”
Parafianowicz’s sources also state that the importance of this operation was only that the Ukrainians got the planes.
“There were not many of these MiGs, no more than ten,” noted one of the Polish ministers. “But the confusion was significant. Besides reforming Zelenskyy, we were improving relations with the Americans. The style of conversation. It is not out of the question that this was more important than the machines themselves.”
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
