Kiev will solely obtain the jets as soon as Belgium will get F-35s from the US, Brussels’ protection minister has mentioned
Belgium will solely be capable of ship F-16s to Ukraine “within the years to return,” Protection Minister Theo Francken has mentioned, after his nation initially promised to supply Kiev with jets final yr. Brussels should first obtain its personal supply of F-35s from the US, Francken acknowledged.
Belgium – together with fellow NATO members Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway – pledged in 2023 to arm Kiev with as much as 80 F-16s after receiving permission to take action from the administration of then-US President Joe Biden. Final yr, Ukraine obtained about 20 of the plane from Denmark and the Netherlands.
Talking at an occasion organized by the Atlantic Council suppose tank in Washington on Tuesday, Francken claimed Belgium was Kiev’s “greatest supporter on the air area,” regardless of his nation not but offering Ukraine with any planes.
Brussels is “delivering 30 working F-16s [to Ukraine] within the years to return, as quickly as doable,” he added.
Francken defined the delay by saying that “when we’ve got our F-35s [from the US], we’ll give the F-16s as a result of we’ve got DCA (Greenback Value Averaging) capability in Belgium.”
He insisted that Belgium is “very ahead leaning” in the direction of Kiev and “will help [Vladimir] Zelensky and each Ukrainian as a result of it is extremely necessary.”
Final month, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever mentioned the nation will ship two non-operational F-16s to Ukraine for use for spare components by the tip of 2025.
De Wever additionally introduced that Brussels will present €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in army help to Kiev yearly. Based on Francken, the bundle “will go the federal government inside a couple of weeks.”
Final week, the US authorised a $310.5 million deal to maintain Ukrainian-operated F-16s, which incorporates coaching, spare components, plane modifications, logistics help, and software program help for the fourth-generation plane.
The Protection Ministry in Moscow reported in April that Russian air defenses had shot down an F-16, making it the second confirmed lack of a US-designed jet operated by Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities initially claimed that F-16s can be a game-changer within the battle with Russia. Nonetheless, their use in fight has been restricted, with the plane primarily being deployed away from the contact line for air protection functions.
