OP-ED: Poland Holds onto Its MiG-29s — When Solidarity Is Traded for Drones

The Modernization That Warsaw Refuses to Fund

On June 17, 2026, Deputy Minister Paweł Zalewski on RMF FM: “The Ukrainians would like these MiG-29s to be adapted to modern combat conditions.”

Ukraine had indicated its limited interest in non-modernized aircraft—a request for actual operational capabilities, not a refusal.

The unfinished technology agreement

Second reason: the technology transfer of drones provided for in the February 2026 agreement has not been finalized. The protocol exists. What’s missing is concrete implementation.

These two conditions create a diplomatic stalemate that benefits the adversary. Every week of deadlock is a week of underprotected Ukrainian airspace.

Sometimes two reasons are worth less than a single well-executed one. Imposing multiple conditions in negotiations with an ally at war is a luxury NATO cannot afford.

A Fleet Reaching the End of Its Service Life in the Polish Army

Poland has fourteen remaining MiG-29s: eleven single-seaters and three two-seaters at Minsk Mazowiecki. Plan: to transfer six to eight aircraft to Ukraine.

The first Polish F-35As arrived in May 2026. Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz had said that these MiGs would end up “in a museum, as scrap metal, or in Ukraine.”

A clear strategic absurdity

F-35As are arriving in Poland while serviceable MiG-29s remain grounded due to an unresolved clause. This image speaks louder than any press release.

These aircraft are no longer of use to Poland. They can still be of use to Ukraine. That distinction should suffice.

F-35s are arriving in Poland while MiG-29s are rusting away in hangars. There is an absurdity in this image that neither diplomacy nor statistics can erase.

The Hybrid Expertise of Kyiv’s Engineers

The MiG-29 is a fourth-generation Soviet fighter jet. Ukrainian engineers have adapted it to carry NATO missiles: the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

Six to eight additional aircraft would allow for rotations and extra missions. Overworked crews would immediately benefit from this enhanced capability.

The argument for modernization doesn’t hold up given the urgency of the situation

Ukraine has proven its ability to rapidly integrate aircraft into real combat conditions. It does not expect perfect aircraft.

The argument for necessary modernization is valid in the long term. In the urgency of an intense war, it serves as an excuse to delay an obvious transfer.

An aging aircraft in the skies over Ukraine is better than the same aircraft rusting away in a Polish hangar. Modernization can wait; the war, however, cannot.

The Hard Lesson of September 2025

In September 2025, between nineteen and twenty-three Russian drones entered Polish airspace, forcing NATO to launch Operation Eastern Sentry. Poland’s request is well-documented and legitimate.

Ukraine has built an unparalleled drone industry: the P1-SUN, FPV drones, and long-range systems. Its production: 1,500 interceptors per day in January 2026.

A legitimate request, a questionable partnership

Poland shares a border with Belarus, an ally of Moscow. Its request is rational. The technologies target attack FPVs and counter-UAS systems.

It is not the request itself that poses a problem. It is its linking to the fate of aircraft in an ongoing war. These two considerations should not be made contingent on one another.

Poland has the right to want to learn from the best. But linking this learning to the fate of aircraft needed in an active war is a calculation that is difficult to defend morally.

Every rift is a weapon for Moscow

A public rift between Ukraine and Poland is fueling skepticism. The Kremlin is exploiting every crack in the Western alliance.

This is not a reason to give in. It is a reason to resolve the issue quickly. The alliance must demonstrate its unity through actions, not just through statements.

The invisible human cost

Ukrainian pilots are racking up hours in worn-out aircraft. These people are doing their jobs with whatever they’re given.

In Minsk Mazowiecki, planes that could be flying for Ukraine remain on the tarmac. That is the cost of negotiations that have dragged on too long.

Ukraine’s adversaries never miss an opportunity to highlight its allies haggling over terms. Resolving this issue quickly also means refusing to give them that gift.

Expertise Forged in the Heat of Battle

Ukraine has become the training ground for 21st-century warfare. Its innovations in drones, tactical adaptations, and solutions developed under pressure are of interest to every NATO army.

The “technology versus weapons” approach will spread throughout the alliance. If managed well, this model strengthens cohesion. If mismanaged, it undermines operational solidarity.

The moral limits of active exchange

Ukraine is innovating under bombardment, and the whole world wants its blueprints. This is an extraordinary recognition of the most-attacked country in Europe.

But this reciprocity must not create hostage situations. The West can learn from Ukraine without making it pay the price of its own survival.

The West must learn from Ukraine—but not by making it pay the price of its own survival for that lesson. There is a line that allies should not cross.

A Bilateral Dispute with Collective Consequences

This dispute remains a bilateral one between Poland and Ukraine. But since Tomczyk’s statement on Radio ZET, Western partners have been watching closely.

Poland has the right to negotiate. What is at issue is the timing of a stalemate that objectively benefits the enemy.

The line between negotiating and imposing conditions

In a war of such intensity, military solidarity should not be conditional. Airplanes that are of no use to the Polish military should be sent to Ukraine.

History will remember those who helped unconditionally. It will also remember those who attached conditions when the aid cost less than the conditions themselves.

One can understand Poland’s position and still believe that this situation deserved a swifter resolution. To understand is not to approve. To analyze is not to absolve.

Two Nations United by a Common Threat

Poland and Ukraine share an identical strategic interest: preventing Russia from dominating Central Europe.

Zalewski touched on historical tensions related to the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces. These sensitivities must not be allowed to interfere with urgent military negotiations.

A Record of Solidarity That Remains Positive

Poland has contributed significantly: fourteen MiG-29s delivered, a massive arms transit, and essential logistical support from the very start of the war.

This post aims to highlight an uncomfortable situation so that the parties involved can grasp the urgency. This dispute must remain a temporary exception.

The old wounds of Polish-Ukrainian history must not intrude on today’s military negotiations. The current geopolitical landscape demands unity above all else.

Two Timelines That Don’t Align

The war in Ukraine has been going on for four years. One ally is thinking twenty years ahead, while the other is fighting for tomorrow. They’re struggling to get on the same page.

This dispute, made public on Radio ZET, reveals the pent-up frustration. Backchannel diplomacy should have resolved it before it made headlines.

The planes are waiting—and so are the pilots

In Minsk Mazowiecki, six to eight MiG-29s are on standby. In Ukraine, crews are waiting for reinforcements. Caught between these two realities: an agreement that hasn’t been finalized.

If the two capitals can quickly find a way to sign the agreement, this dispute will fade into the history of the alliance. That is where it belongs.

When one ally thinks in terms of twenty years and the other in terms of twenty-four hours, solidarity crumbles. It’s not a matter of ill will. It’s a geopolitical dissonance that must be corrected urgently.

The Honest Limitations of My Analysis

I have to be honest: I don’t know the details of the agreement. The technologies haven’t been disclosed. There may be complex constraints.

There may be parallel negotiations taking place. What Tomczyk says on Radio ZET isn’t the full story of what’s being discussed between Warsaw and Kyiv.

What I know for certain

There is a solution to this impasse. Both sides have signed an agreement. The goodwill is there. What’s missing is a shared sense of urgency.

Diplomatic timelines rarely move as quickly as military ones. That is the real danger: the habit of deadlock that no one breaks.

I may be wrong about the details. But on the essentials, there’s little doubt: among allies in wartime, delays are measured in lives, not in diplomatic semesters.

An agreement in principle that holds

The Polish decision is conditional. Tomczyk reiterated: if the issue is resolved, the MiGs will leave. The February 2026 agreement is in place.

What’s needed: a date for the technology transfer, a delivery date for the MiG-29s, and mutual guarantees. It comes down to political will.

Shared urgency as the sole driving force

Both sides must accept that Ukraine’s urgency takes precedence over standard timelines. Poland can obtain its technology, with the aircraft being the absolute priority.

This dispute can and must be resolved. Ukrainian pilots need them now. It is in the allies’ interest to demonstrate that they are honoring their concrete commitments.

This situation can be resolved. It must be resolved. A formally signed agreement should not have to wait week after week for a secondary clause to finally materialize.

A Legacy of Solidarity to Preserve

Poland took the lead in March 2023. This historic gesture cannot be overshadowed by a temporary impasse over technical conditions.

But the strength of an alliance is measured over time. Warsaw must resolve this dispute quickly, before the delay sends an unintended message.

What This Post Calls For

Not blind gratitude. But a shared commitment to turn an agreement in principle into concrete, measurable, and time-bound action.

War leaves no room for unnecessary delays. Ukrainian pilots are waiting. So are the MiG-29s. The ball is in both camps’ court.

A deadlock with a clear solution

This friction over the MiG-29s is not a crisis. It is a stalled negotiation whose timeline has run out. Ukraine delivers its technology; Poland transfers its aircraft.

The world is watching to see how Ukraine’s allies behave when it really counts. Poland can demonstrate that a true alliance takes action, not just talks.

War doesn’t wait for interagency memos

What’s needed: a signed agreement, a set delivery date, and planes taking off for Kyiv. War doesn’t wait for diplomatic rotations.

If this agreement is concluded soon, this post will become a footnote. That would be the best outcome for those flying in contested skies.

Signed, Maxime Marquette, columnist