Ukraine is gradually running out of weapons to deal with Russia

Poland received permission from Germany to supply five MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine last week to help Kiev bolster its forces before fighting intensifies.

However, these fighters will not give Ukraine an advantage in an air war with Russia. Instead, the additional ammunition for the new air defense weapons is essential to deter Russian fighters and missiles.

Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut. Photo: Getty

Berlin approved Warsaw's request to supply fighter jets to Ukraine on April 13. Poland received 22 MiG-29 fighters from Germany in 2003 on condition that any transfer required Berlin's permission.

Poland and Slovakia pledged to deliver around 20 MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine in March. At the time, the Polish president said the first four would be delivered within days. At the end of March, Ukrainian officials announced that the first Slovak fighters were ready for combat in Kharkiv.

The MiG-29s will help Ukraine boost its air capabilities and its pilots have experience flying them, but they are still only used sparingly on the battlefield because each side has heavily deployed air defense systems to prevent the other from gaining an advantage.

Ukrainian officials have asked the United States for more modern fighter jets like the F-16, arguing that they would give their pilots an edge. U.S. officials have repeatedly said that this would be too expensive and would take time for the Ukrainian air force to learn how to use them, while other weapons are more effective, especially air defense systems.

According to leaked Pentagon documents, US officials believe Kiev is at risk of running out of air defense weapons and ammunition by late spring or early summer, leaving key targets vulnerable to Russian attacks.

The document said that Ukraine's current air defense plan is to balance limited resources with the protection of important national infrastructure, population centers, frontline troops and other key areas./.