Sweden to donate $1.23 billion in military aid to Ukraine
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Winnipeg Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $0.00 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2024 (494 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Swedish government said Wednesday that it will donate 13 billion kronor ($1.23 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, in the largest package of assistance Sweden has so far donated.
“It consists of equipment that is at the top of Ukraine’s priority list,” Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said. It includes air defense, artillery ammunition and armored vehicles.
Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonsson reiterated that the country has ruled out for now sending any Swedish-built JAS 39 Gripen jets to Ukraine, saying the focus on the Ukrainian side is on implementing a F-16 fighter jet program.
Several countries have said they want to donate F-16s. On Tuesday, Belgium pledged 30 F-16 jets to Ukraine.
Jonsson said Sweden “is still working on possibly being able to contribute with the Gripen system later.”
The donation also includes two Swedish-made SAAB ASCC airborne early warning and control airplanes, which Jonsson said would have the “greatest effect on the Ukrainian air defense” because it would complement and reinforce the promised donations of American F-16 fighter jets.
“You can identify incoming cruise missiles, you can identify drones and identify targets both on land and at sea,” he said.
“The overall assessment is that a donation of the ASCC 890 radar reconnaissance and command aircraft would be the most impactful for the Ukrainian Air Force right now,” Jonsson added.
The donation of the two airborne early warning and control airplanes means “a temporary decline in the Swedish defense capability,” Jonsson said.
“These are the two aircraft that we have in Sweden. We therefore also take a deliberate and calculated risk,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. “I think it is an incredibly strong contribution.”
The donation also includes a missile system that can be used both on aircraft and in ground-based air defense systems, he said. It will be donated to Ukraine through cooperation with the United States, Jonsson said.
The support package is the 16th from Sweden since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.