The Swedish authorities announced their position on sending combat aircraft to Ukraine.
Sweden has received Ukraine’s request for the transfer of Swedish-made Gripen fighters, but is not yet ready to transfer them. This was stated by Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson before the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
“When it comes to the Gripen, we are currently facing limitations due to the fact that these aircraft are very important to maintain our territorial integrity and sovereignty. Therefore, this will be a serious constraint on our national defense resources,” he said.
According to Jonson, the priority for Sweden today is to strengthen the air defense system of Ukraine. He also reminded that earlier Sweden had already provided Ukraine with military aid worth about one billion euros and was ready to continue.
“We are significantly increasing our support to Ukraine. We will start transferring and training the Ukrainian military on more than 50 CV-90 combat vehicles next week. We are providing various air defense equipment, winter clothing, and we are determined to increase our support to Ukraine,” the minister emphasized.
The supply of fighter jets to Ukraine is the latest news
After the breakthrough in the issue of tanks for Ukraine, the issue of the transfer of combat aircraft also began to be actively discussed. However, there are no concrete solutions yet. According to the head of the British Ministry of Defense, the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine is the same as giving a person a Formula 1 car instead of an ordinary car.
But if earlier the majority of partner countries expressed themselves quite categorically – Ukraine will not receive Western-style aircraft, now the position has become softer. For example, the Biden administration admits the possibility of sending fighter jets in the future.
The Minister of Defense of Germany believes that the issue of the possible supply of fighter jets to Ukraine will be considered in 3-4 months. The discussion is possible if “the sky over Ukraine will be safe.”
