WARSAW: Poland on Monday said it had already transferred some of its promised MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, after fellow NATO member Slovakia announced it had shipped an initial batch of its own.

“A few MiG-29s have already been sent. They are indeed helpful to Ukraine in its defence of our collective security,” Polish presidential aide Marcin Przydacz told local radio station RMF FM.

Last month, Poland became the first NATO member to pledge the fighter jets when President Andrzej Duda said it would deliver an initial batch of four.

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He said at the time that Poland currently has a dozen or so MiG planes that it inherited from the former German Democratic Republic and which they were “on the verge” of sending to Ukraine.

Slovakia later announced it would also send MiG-29s to Ukraine, specifying that they would consist of 10 operational fighter jets and an additional three that would be used for spare parts.

Late last month, Slovakia said it had already transferred the first four of its promised jets, with the remaining nine to follow in the coming weeks.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked its Western allies to send warplanes, primarily modern US-made F-16s.