Poland’s president on Wednesday pledged to ship 14 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine after welcoming president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Warsaw for a state go to to strengthen ties between the neighbouring nations.

The recent pledge follows Poland’s supply of 4 of its Soviet-built jets after it agreed final month to make the primary cargo of fight plane by a Nato nation, elevating the extent of western army assist to Kyiv. Slovakia adopted go well with and is sending 13 MiG-29 jets.

Poland’s president Andrzej Duda on Wednesday stated Warsaw would quickly hand over 4 extra jets and that one other six had been “now in preparation” and could be delivered as quickly as attainable.

As soon as Poland receives substitute Korean and US fighter jets that it has ordered, Duda stated, “I imagine that sooner or later we can switch our total remaining MiG fleet to Ukraine, ought to the necessity come up.” Poland had 28 operational MiG jets earlier than it started sending the plane to Ukraine, based on the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research.

Poland has performed a significant function in galvanising western army assist for Ukraine and has hosted 1.5mn Ukrainian refugees, based on United Nations statistics.

Zelenskyy used his go to to spotlight the truth that “by no means in historical past have there been such heat relations between our nations”. However his arrival in Warsaw coincided with the resignation of Poland’s agriculture minister amid a dispute over grain imported from Ukraine.

Henryk Kowalczyk stepped down after Polish farmers condemned his authorities’s incapacity to cease cheaper Ukrainian grain from flooding the home market after the EU scrapped customs duties and quotas on grain imports from Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The minister blamed the European Fee for failing to satisfy “the essential calls for of farmers”, after Poland joined 4 EU nations to demand extra monetary compensation for farmers from the bloc. In addition they sought the return of farm export restrictions that had been lifted final yr to assist Ukraine’s economic system.

Protesting farmers on Wednesday blocked town centre of Szczecin, on Poland’s northern coast, extending demonstrations which have lasted for 2 weeks.

Following a separate assembly with Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Zelenskyy stated “we have now discovered a means out of this case, within the coming days, weeks will probably be lastly resolved”.

Zelenskyy was accompanied by first woman Olena Zelenska on the couple’s first abroad journey collectively since February of final yr, and simply the third journey exterior Ukraine for Zelenskyy since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. It was additionally the primary time because the invasion that the president’s journey plans had been introduced forward of time.

Zelenskyy additionally met Ukrainian refugees. He was attributable to finish his day-long go to with a speech to Ukrainians and Poles at Warsaw’s royal citadel.