Belgium will deliver 30 F-16 fighters to Ukraine until 2028 and signs a military aid agreement of 977 million

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Hadja Lahbib, announced this Tuesday that her country will commit to deliver 30 F-16 fighters to Ukraine by 2028and the first planes will be delivered “before the end of the year.”

This commitment will be formalized in an agreement signed this Tuesday in Brussels by the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Crooand the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, who is visiting Brussels today, as reported by the head of Belgian diplomacy to the Bel RTL radio station.

According to Lahbib, this support for kyiv is essential to stop the Russian president’s offensive, Vladimir Putindetermined, according to her, to push back the borders of European countries.

“For the first time, an agreement of this type specify the exact number of F-16 fighter jets (30) that will be delivered to Ukraine until 2028, and the first will arrive this year,” Zelensky highlighted on the X social network.

“The document includes at least 977 million euros in Belgian military aid to Ukraine this year, as well as Belgium’s commitment to provide support to our country during the ten years of the agreement,” the Ukrainian president reported in X.

[Sánchez y Zelenski firman un acuerdo político bilateral de seguridad con 1.000M sólo para 2024]

The agreement, he continued, guarantees “the timely security assistance of Belgiummodern armored vehicles, equipment to meet the needs of the air force and air defense of Ukraine, naval security, mine clearance, participation in the coalition of artillery ammunition and military training.”

Likewise, the document provides for the defense industrial cooperationsupport for the Ukrainian Peace Formula, strengthening sanctions against Russia, compensation for damages, justice for the aggressor, the use of frozen Russian assets and economic recovery, Zelensky noted.

Ukraine and Belgium will also deepen their intelligence cooperation, cybersecurity and the fight against disinformation. Similar to the agreement reached with Spain this Monday.

The Ukrainian president thanked De Croo, his government and all Belgians for their “unwavering and lasting” support for Ukraine, also with regard to the country’s future membership in the EU and NATO.

The Ukrainian leader traveled to Brussels from Madrid after visiting Spain this Monday, where he met with the king Philip VI and the president of the Government, Pedro Sanchez.

In Brussels, Zelensky is also scheduled to meet with King Philip of the Belgians and visit the military airport of Melsbroek accompanied by De Croo and the Minister of Defense, Ludivine Dedonder, to hold a meeting with pilots, instructors and technicians of the F-16 combat aircraft.

Zelensky’s visit to Brussels is a month after the Belgian Government announced its decision to try to accelerate the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, so that the first of them can arrive, if possible, by the end of this year.

Belgium joined the coalition of countries willing to give F-16 fighters to Ukraine in May last year and initially, its participation was limited to pilot training and technical and logistical support.

So far, in addition to Belgium, they have committed to delivering F-16s to Ukraine Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.

Zelensky arrives in Belgium just one day after going to Spain, where he signed a bilateral agreement for the next ten years by which Madrid will deliver 1,000 million euros in 2024 to kyiv, which can reach the 5 billion in 2027so it can improve its response to the Russian invasion.

His arrival in Brussels coincides with the holding of a Council of Defense Ministers of the European Union, in which Ukraine’s defense needs against Russia appear as one of the topics on its agenda.

From Brussels, the Ukrainian president will head to Lisbon this afternoon to strengthen cooperation in the field of security and defense with Portugal, in what will be his first official visit to the country.