'This is also our war': Polish minister on sending jets to Ukraine

When asked about how Poland came to the decision to send Ukraine jets to aid in its conflict against Russia, Polish health minister Adam Niedzielski said: “The most important issue for us is that this is also our war.”

Niedzielski gave an exclusive interview on CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Monday.

“We have the feeling that we are also defending our borders, so this is not a case of too much discussion. We simply have to help them,” he said.

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Poland’s president announced Thursday that his country plans to give Ukraine four MiG-29 fighter jets. Slovakia followed suit, saying it will send 13 MiG-29s to Ukraine.

Poland was also the first country to announce it would send battle tanks to Ukraine, sparking commitments from several other countries, including Canada.

When Kapelos asked Niedzielski if he expects the United States to follow Poland’s lead and supply jets, he called the situation “dynamic.”

“I think that the situation is very dynamical. We have very good diplomacy. Our prime minister, president and the minister of foreign affairs [have had] a lot of talks with our allies, and I think that until now we [have been] quite effective,” he said.

Niedzielski discusses Poland’s support for Ukraine in the video at the top of this article.