The German government on Thursday authorized Poland to transfer five Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine, boosting Kyiv's ability to challenge Russia by air.
Poland obtained the MiG-29 jets from Germany in the early 2000s, according to media reports. They were originally used by the armed forces in Communist-era East Germany.
Because Germany imposes limits on the subsequent transfer of military equipment that it sells, Poland had to ask permission from Berlin to hand the jets to Ukraine. Boris Pistorius, Germany's defense minister, said that request was received and granted on Thursday.
"I welcome the fact that we in the federal government have reached this decision together," Pistorius said in a statement, as reported by ABC News. "This shows you can rely on Germany!"
Ukraine has been asking its allies for months to provide it with more air power.
So far, however, allies such as France and the United States have rejected requests to provide their own advanced fighter jets, leaving it up to Ukraine's allies in Eastern Europe to pull from their stockpiles of Soviet-era aircraft. Poland has said it was willing to provide Ukraine with its entire fleet of 28 MiG-29s. Slovakia has also promised to chip in.
Germany originally balked at allowing its former jets to be sent to Ukraine.
"So far, everyone has agreed that it's not the time to send fighter jets," Pistorius said just last month.
First, put in service in 1983, the MiG-29 is considered a fourth-generation fighter jet, similar to — if not quite on par with — the US-built F-16 and capable of flying at more than twice the speed of sound.
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