Poland May Transfer MiG-29s to Bulgaria If It Fails to Reach an Agreement with Ukraine, - Former Defense Minister Onyszkiewicz
Should Kyiv and Warsaw be unable to agree on the terms for the transfer of the MiG-29 fighter jets, Bulgaria could become their potential recipient.
This was stated by Poland’s former Minister of National Defence, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, according to Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform.
Why has the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine reached an impasse?
According to him, Warsaw’s final decision will depend on the balance between the potential benefits and costs.
"Poland has MiGs that are reaching the end of their service life, meaning they are effectively no longer capable of flying safely, so Poland will gradually be phasing them out of service. Restoring the MiGs to full combat readiness, as Ukraine expects, would entail enormous additional costs," said Onyszkiewicz.
He explained that it is precisely the high cost of operation and modernisation that is one of the reasons why Poland has decided against these fighter jets.
According to the former minister, the initial plan was for Ukraine to use the Polish MiG-29s as a source of spare parts or to restore them to operational condition itself. However, if this work is to be carried out by the Polish side, the question arises as to who will finance the restoration of the aircraft.
"Both sides have reached something of an impasse due to overly ambitious expectations, and that is the reason for this delay," noted Onyszkiewicz.
Onyszkiewicz emphasised that there are other interested parties for these MiGs, so the matter will have to be resolved "in the near future".
What might Poland get in exchange for the fighter jets?
"If the Ukrainian side is not prepared to accept them as they are and, in line with their value, provide Poland with certain drone technologies in return, then Poland will presumably move on to option 'B': transferring the MiGs to another country. Everything suggests that this could be Bulgaria," the former minister noted.
At the same time, he expressed regret at the possibility of such a scenario unfolding.
"It would be better if this were resolved in the context of relations between Poland and Ukraine," concluded Onyszkiewicz.
The transfer of Polish MiGs to Ukraine
- In December 2025, the Polish Ministry of National Defence and the General Staff announced their intention to transfer to Ukraine some of the MiG-29s that remained in service with the Polish Air Force.
- These fighter jets have been in service in Poland since 1989. They are currently being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft, but they are still carrying out combat missions.
- Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Poland was refusing to hand over the MiG-29 aircraft, even though Ukraine had agreed with NATO to send Alliance aircraft to Poland in exchange.
- The country’s Foreign Ministry later stated that Poland would transfer its MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine once it receives replacements for them from its allies.
- The President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, believes that the country could exchange MiG aircraft for anti-drone technology in favour of Ukraine.
- Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, stated that Warsaw had offered Kyiv a "highly cooperative approach" — an exchange of MiG-29s for drone technology. According to him, Ukraine initially agreed to this proposal but subsequently refused to honour the agreements reached. He also suggested that the breakdown of the deal had political underpinnings and was linked, in particular, to the escalation of Polish-Ukrainian disputes over historical issues.
