Entire Slovak MiG-29 fleet gifted to Ukraine, Bulgarian Su-25s in parts
MADRID ($1=0.98 Euros) — Ukraine will receive Slovakia’s entire air fleet of MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters or 12 combat aircraft, one of which was used as a trainer by the Slovak Air Force. The donation comes thanks to a bilateral agreement between the Czech Republic and Slovakia that the Czech Air Force will protect Slovakia’s airspace until Bratislava receives the 12 F-16 Block 70 units ordered by the US in the coming months. The information comes from the Spanish online portal InfoDifensa.
Slovakia was one of the first countries in the world that decided to purchase the latest version of the notorious F-16 – the Block 70. According to the signed agreement between the US and Slovakia, the new F-16s were supposed to land in mid-2020. However, the Greenville plant was also affected by the then raging coronavirus epidemic, which forced the Americans to make new plans for deliveries to each country, including Bulgaria, which is next in line after Slovakia and waiting for its eight F-16 Block 70/72.
Su-25 from Bulgaria
The same publication [InfoDefensa] claims that, at the moment, only Bulgaria has delivered combat aircraft to Ukraine, and these are 14 units of the Soviet Su-25 Grach. According to the Spanish, the delivery took place in recent months, as “Bulgaria sends them in disassembled form through third parties,” InfoDifensa wrote. “Perhaps these are the ones to which the press secretary of the United States Department of Defense John Kirby was referring when he revealed last April that Ukrainian forces already had more fixed-wing combat aircraft in the second half of April than two weeks earlier,” InfoDefensa also writes on the topic of Bulgarian combat aircraft.
BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that at the end of April the USA announced that Ukraine “has more fixed-wing fighters now than they did two weeks ago.” Kirby avoids clarifying the origin of the additional devices but admits that this is due to foreign aid. The fact that the country’s fleet [Ukraine – ed.] has increased, he said, “is not a coincidence, because other nations that have experience with this type of aircraft have been able to help them launch more aircraft.”
At the time, the Pentagon spokesman hinted that these were devices that would already be available to Kyiv and that they had already received certain spare parts and assistance that would allow them to be returned to the air. However, during a press conference held at the time, Kirby added after warning that he did not want to “get into what other nations are offering” because of the danger it could pose if Moscow concluded that the supply of that material implies direct NATO involvement in the conflict.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 21 February 2022, the Russian government claimed that Ukrainian shelling had destroyed an FSB border facility on the Russia Ukraine border, and claimed that it had killed 5 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to cross into Russian territory. Ukraine denied being involved in both incidents and called them a false flag.
On the same day, the Russian government formally recognized the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR as independent states, according to Putin not only in their de-facto controlled areas, but the Ukrainian Oblasts as a whole, and Putin ordered Russian troops, including tanks, to enter the regions.
On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine by Russian Armed Forces previously concentrated along the border. The invasion followed by targeted airstrikes of military buildings in the country, as well as tanks entering via the Belarus border.
Russia has so far not recognized the invasion of Ukraine as a “war”, although that is exactly what it is, claiming that it is a “special military operation”. According to the UN, in which Russia has its permanent representation, for military action to be defined as a “special military operation”, it must have a resolution issued by the UN. There is no such resolution, which automatically defines the military actions of the Russians as an invasion and war against the citizens of Ukraine.
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