Ukraine's President's Office states Ukraine did not reject Gripen Swedish fighter jets
Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has stressed that Ukraine did not "reject" the Swedish-made JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets so that Ukrainian troops train on the F-16 fighter jets faster, and that the negotiations regarding the purchase of the Gripens are ongoing.
Source: Zhovkva in an interview for Voice of America, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Zhovkva was asked to comment on the statement by the Swedish Foreign Minister in an interview to Voice of America that Sweden was ready to supply Ukraine with fighter jets but Ukraine decided to halt this process.
"I have never heard that Ukrainians rejected the Gripen fighter jets. The other way round, this is the topic my president always brings up during the talks with the Swedish leadership," Zhovkva stated.
He noted that this dialogue was ongoing back when Sweden was not a NATO member, and before its final accession to the Alliance Sweden was not ready to make any promises.
Quote: "At the moment this country is in NATO, and my president is talking to the Prime Minister of Sweden again, and our Defence Ministry [communicates] with corresponding Swedish bodies. These fighter jets are as good as the F-16s. So we are moving in this direction."
Background:
- Explaining why Stockholm halted the supply of the fighter jets to Kyiv earlier, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström stated that it happened due to Ukraine’s conclusion, as it found managing both F-16 and Gripen fighter jet systems simultaneously "too challenging"
- The security agreement signed between Ukraine and Sweden provides for military assistance to Kyiv worth SEK 75 billion (about €6.5 billion), and also includes "the prospect of providing Ukraine with JAS 39 Gripen aircraft".
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