Belgium has pledged to send 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by 2028, with the first deliveries scheduled to arrive later this year, as the two countries signed a ten-year security and support pact.
At a press conference in Brussels Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the delivery of the jets in 2024 would “make our stance stronger” but voiced frustration with western allies’ restrictions to stop weapons being used against targets on Russian soil.
Referring to the attack on a hypermarket in Kharkiv close to the Russian border, he said “everything was blown up, children, people, civilians and you cannot answer them… But we can’t risk the support of our partners that is why we are not using our partners arms to attack Russian territory.”
Belgium’s prime minister Alexander De Croo said Belgium was working to deliver the first jets as soon as possible, without specifying how many would arrive this year.
Belgium promised the jets last October and Zelenskiy said it was the first time that the exact number of F-16 fighter jets to be delivered to Ukraine by 2028 had been specified.
Zelenskiy was in Brussels to sign a long-term support and security agreement between Ukraine and Belgium, which he said was worth €977m this year. Under the agreement Belgium will provide equipment for air forces and defence, naval security, mine clearance, military training and ammunition.
The agreement touches on strengthening sanctions against Russia, justice, compensation and economic recovery. The two sides will also deepen cooperation on intelligence, cyber security and countering disinformation.
Zelenskiy’s visit to Brussels follows a meeting in Spain on Monday, where prime minister Pedro Sánchez pledged €1bn in military aid for Ukraine in a decade-long defence deal that Madrid said will strengthen Ukrainian air defences.
Sweden halts plan for Gripen jets to Ukraine
Sweden is pausing plans to send Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine in order to allow for the introduction of F-16 fighter jets, the Swedish defence minister told news agency TT in Brussels.
“We have been urged by the other countries in the coalition to wait with the Gripen system,” Pal Jonson told TT.
“This has to do with the fact that the focus is now on introducing the F-16 system,” he added.
