Belgium will provide Ukraine with 30 F-16 fighter jets by 2028, with the first aircraft to be delivered by the end of this year, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said this in an interview with RTL, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
She noted that the commitment to transfer the fighter jets will be enshrined in an agreement to be signed today in Brussels during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit.
Belgium will also provide ammunition from its stockpile to equip the F-16s.
According to Lahbib, Ukraine needs such support to stop Vladimir Putin, who intends to "push back the borders of European countries".
Asked whether Russian tanks could one day invade Brussels, she said: "If we allow [Putin] to go his own way, this will not be an impossible scenario."
- In May 2023, Belgium joined the F-16 Coalition to provide Kyiv with a series of fighter-bombers to counter Russian aggression. Initially, Belgium's involvement was limited to training and logistical support, but in autumn the government decided to supply the F-16s themselves, which are to be decommissioned and replaced by F-35s.
- On 24 May, the first group of Ukrainian pilots completed their F-16 training in the United States.