\n<\/p>\n
UPPSALA, Sweden \u2014 Ukraine will buy 20 new Gripen fighter jets, and Sweden will donate 16 of an older model next year, Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sweden\u2019s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a joint press conference on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The two leaders had signed a letter of intent last year paving the way for Sweden to sell up to 150 Saab Gripen model E fighter jets to Ukraine, though deliveries of the newer model are several years away.<\/p>\n
The planes are \u200ba priority for Ukraine\u2019s fighter fleet and the country\u2019s defense minister said in May that a deal for Gripen E could be signed \u201cwithin months\u201d after the European Union approved a \u20ac90 billion ($105 billion) loan for Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cGripen is the best and optimal choice for Ukraine. So today, we take the next major step on this joint journey,\u201d Kristersson said at a press conference alongside Zelenskyy at Uppsala air base, where two Gripen jets were on display.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need these jets, and for us this is really a new page for Ukraine,\u201d Zelenskyy said, adding it planned to buy all the 150 jets stipulated in the original letter of intent. \u201cGod bless, we will have enough financing for this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The transfer of older model C\/D jets enables a stopgap solution for Ukraine\u2019s air defense in the meantime.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had earmarked \u20ac2.5 billion out of a \u20ac90 billion EU loan package for the planes. Deliveries of the new model are expected to reach Ukraine from 2030.<\/p>\n
Shares in Saab were up 4.4% at 1141 GMT, making it the top gainer in Europe.<\/p>\n
Saab CEO Micael Johansson said it was a big day for the company and that the deal added to the momentum around Gripen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more countries that select the Gripen fighter … and it starts flying in operations in more countries, the more people understand what a fantastic capability this is,\u201d Johansson told Reuters at the Uppsala air base.<\/p>\n
Sweden is one of the largest contributors to Ukraine and has sent 128 billion Swedish crowns ($13.75 billion) worth of military and civilian aid so far. It has also set aside 80 billion crowns in aid for this year and next.<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s air force is made up of a mixture of Soviet-made and Western aircraft. Gripen is seen as a cost-efficient alternative to fighters like the more advanced American F-35, being easy and quick to maintain and able to operate from dispersed air bases such as ordinary roads.<\/p>\n
For Sweden, the deal also offers an opportunity to leverage its large defense industry, which has seen a surge in demand since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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