Sweden became the third country in the past few days to pledge more than $1bn (£785m) in additional military aid to Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelensky wrapped up a three-day tour of Europe.
The package announced by Defence Minister Pal Jonson is the largest single tranche of support donated by Sweden since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine, worth SEK13.3 billion (£981 million).
The Swedish aid will include tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and vital artillery ammunition, which have been in short supply in Ukraine for months, as well as financial support for Kyiv to buy more equipment.
The Swedish package will include two airborne surveillance and control aircraft (ASC 890), which will allow the Ukrainian air force to more easily identify long-range targets and help Ukraine with the planned introduction of F-16 fighter jets donated by other Western countries.
The president concluded that the signed defence agreements will give the country versatile support for the long term. He noted:
“Our key priorities: air defence for Ukraine to provide more systems, joint defence production and supplying our military with weapons, and our global work to force Russia to make peace.”
Zelensky said he was “deeply grateful” for the Swedish package, adding in a separate message that Ukraine and its Western allies are “always stronger together.”
President signed agreements with Spain and Belgium
On May 27, Zelensky arrived on a working visit to Spain, where he signed a bilateral security co-operation agreement with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Spanish PM said during the press conference:
“The agreement includes the important support provided by Spain during these two years of war and includes a €1bn commitment of military support for 2024, which will allow Ukraine to strengthen its capabilities.”
On May 28, Zelensky and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo signed a bilateral agreement on co-operation in the field of security and long-term support, the press service of the Ukrainian president’s office said.
According to the document, Belgium will allocate at least €977m (about $1bn) in military aid to Ukraine in 2024 and 30 F-16 fighter jets by 2028. Brussels has pledged to deliver the first military aircraft to Kyiv this year.
Ukraine has already signed security agreements with 12 countries. They include more than 23bn dollars in military and financial support.
Following his European tour, Zelensky will attend the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore this weekend.
