Ukraine and Sweden are negotiating to provide Kyiv with Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighters.
This was announced by the Deputy Head of the Office of the President Igor Zhovkva.
– This is a topic that my president constantly raises with the Swedish leadership. This was the case even before Sweden joined NATO. For obvious reasons, they were not ready to make any promises then, since they had finalized their membership in the military bloc.
Now the country is in NATO, and my president is again communicating with the Prime Minister of Sweden, and our Ministry of Defense with the relevant Swedish authorities. These fighters are as good as the F-16, and we are moving in that direction,” says Zhovkva.
Fighters for Ukraine
Earlier, in a comment to the Voice of America, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that Sweden did not supply fighters to Ukraine because our country came to the conclusion that it would be too difficult to implement two fighter systems at the same time – F-16 and Gripen.
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At the same time, according to the head of the Swedish Foreign Ministry, his country remains open to supplies of Gripen to Kyiv.
— Sweden and the Swedish government have no restrictions in terms of these discussions after the introduction of the F-16. But this decision was made by the Ukrainian government, not the Swedish one, says the diplomat.
Last year, Ukraine began discussions with Sweden about the possibility of receiving Swedish-made Gripen jets from Saab, and Stockholm later said it would evaluate the possibility of sending these aircraft to Kyiv.
In May 2024, Sweden announced that it was suspending plans to send Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine so that the country could introduce F-16 aircraft first.
As noted by retired US Air Force Major General Charles Corcoran, the Gripen has significant advantages.
— Gripen is a much smaller team that can land anywhere, refuel quickly, take off quickly. This is a much more difficult goal for Russia, — he says in the Voice of America commentary.
In February, the pilot of the Ukrainian Air Force PS Phantom said that in addition to the F-16, the Gripen could also significantly strengthen Ukrainian aviation.
