Ukraine may have replenished its fleet of MiG-29 fighters with aircraft from Azerbaijan, The War Zone reports. A photo appeared on social media showing a single-seat Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 with a camouflage pattern characteristic of Azerbaijani jets.

“The date and location of the photo are unknown, but the jet appears to be on a combat mission, with a full armament…While it remains possible that the photo has been manipulated, there is presently nothing to indicate that it’s not genuine,” the report says. 

Azerbaijani aircraft in Ukraine

Back in the summer of 2022, another photo appeared on Twitter showing three Azerbaijani MiG-29s undergoing repairs in Lviv. After the start of the all-out war, they remained in Ukraine and likely entered service with the Air Force.

“It seems the aircraft (or at least one of them) survived the March 2022 Russian attack on the Lviv State Aviation Repair Plant, which we reported on at the time,” the report says.

The plant was a key facility for overhauling MiG-29s not only for Ukraine but also for foreign clients, including Azerbaijan.

Traces of Baku’s support

There are also suggestions that Azerbaijan may have provided Ukraine with other “unofficial” assistance — precision bombs, mortars, and fuel. Azerbaijan’s MiG-29 fleet itself originally came from Ukraine: in 2007, the country acquired about 15 aircraft after major overhaul and modernization.

“Between 2015 and 2017, Azerbaijani MiG-29s took part in joint exercises with the Turkish Air Force, representing one of its closest military allies, and, starting in 2017, Fulcrum overhauls were conducted in Lviv,” the journalists recall. 

The coincidence of the evidence emerging now, alongside rising tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia, only adds intrigue. 

Analysts at Defense Express have spotted a MiG-29 fighter jet armed with a domestic analogue of the Russian UMPK kit, a guided bomb, or a so-called KAB. This indicates the start of wider adaptation of this weapon on a more mass-produced aircraft.

The UMPK kit turns a standard unguided bomb into a precision-guided munition with an extended range.

“At least 100 per day are needed” 

“The enemy drops 120–150 aerial bombs daily. We, at best, have up to 10 per day. And we need to reach at least 100 per day. Once we finally get enough aerial bombs, the situation at the front can change drastically,” revealed military expert Pavlo Narozhny on Radio NV. 

He emphasized that the Ukrainian development does not compete with the French high-precision HAMMERs, which are much more advanced and have a range of over 200 km. Instead, the Ukrainian KABs can be compared to American JDAMs or GBUs, which glide under the influence of gravity.

Cheap, mass-produced, and with great potential

According to Narozhny, the cost of one Ukrainian KAB could be $25,000. An American JDAM costs around $20,000–22,000.

“We have huge stockpiles of these aerial bombs – high-explosive, cluster, various types. We can use them in massive quantities,” the expert explained.

He also noted that installing a jet engine is a completely realistic next step. This would make the Ukrainian munition technologically closer to Western models and provide additional range.

Major Serhii Bondar, a MiG-29 fighter pilot, died during a landing approach after completing a combat mission on the night of 23 August, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.

“During the landing approach, MiG-29 fighter pilot Major Bondar Serhii Viktorovych, born in 1979, died,” the Air Force reported. The causes and circumstances of the crash are currently being investigated.

Bondar served as deputy squadron commander with the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade “Ghost of Kyiv,” according to the Air Command “Center.” The pilot was born in 1979 in Kropyvnytskyi, where he lived with his family: wife, son, and daughter.

The pilot graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2000.

“He dedicated his entire life to aviation, although he had a break in military service. He worked as a lecturer at the National Aviation University,” the 40th Brigade reported on Facebook.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Bondar returned to military service without hesitation, joining the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade and restoring his flight skills on L-39 and MiG-29 aircraft.

“It was on MiG-29 fighters that he carried out daily combat work to protect Ukraine’s airspace: successfully destroying enemy air targets and conducting missile and bomb strikes on occupier positions, their headquarters and equipment concentrations on various front directions,” his colleagues said.

They described Bondar as a balanced and professional pilot, “a person with a big heart and boundless life optimism, humor, sincerity and mutual support for those close to him.”

A Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet carried out a precision strike on Russian positions in the Zaporizhzhia direction, targeting a command post for drone operators and a combined ammunition and fuel depot, Ukraine's Air Force reported on June 13.

The Air Force did not disclose the exact location of the strike but thanked international partners for providing the guided munitions used in the attack.

"We thank our partners for their highly accurate and effective 'arguments'," the service wrote.

The MiG-29, a Soviet-designed multirole fighter jet, remains a front-line platform in Ukraine's air force and has been adapted to carry Western-supplied precision-guided weapons.

Zaporizhzhia Oblast, located in southeastern Ukraine, remains one of the war's most contested areas. While the city of Zaporizhzhia is under Ukrainian control, southern parts of the region remain occupied by Russian forces.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on May 31 that Russia has intensified offensive operations across several key areas, including Zaporizhzhia, as part of a broader summer push.

Ukrainian forces have continued to conduct airstrikes and sabotage missions to degrade Russian supply lines and disrupt offensive preparations.

Russia preparing strategic reserves for conflicts beyond Ukraine, Ukraine warns

“According to our intelligence, Russia has started to prepare strategic reserves, which indicates plans for combat operations not only in Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir