Belgium ready to deliver F-16 fighters to Ukraine by the end of the year
The visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky to Brussels who also obtained a commitment from the Netherlands on the 'Patriot' missiles
ROME – An agreement to deliver 30 F-16 fighter planes to the Kiev government by 2028 is ready on the table of the Belgian government, which today welcomed the visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky to Brussels . The announcement, made by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and announced to the local media by Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, consists of armaments worth one billion euros. The first fighters are expected to be delivered by the end of the year. The Ukrainian president is currently making a tour of Europe to find new financing for the war effort that the country has been supporting since 2022, when Russia started a military offensive in the territories of eastern Donbass, exacerbating a conflict that has caused thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people.
The trip, scheduled for the beginning of the month, was postponed due to the offensive that Russian forces launched against the Kharkiv area in north-eastern Ukraine. The operations would aim to take advantage of the tiredness of the Ukrainian forces, but, according to agreeing sources cited by the international press, Kiev’s defense lines are holding. Despite this, there are new deaths among civilians, including the 11 victims of the missile that hit the crowded ‘Epicentr’ shopping center on Sunday, in which a mother and her 12-year-old daughter also lost their lives.
Before going to Belgium, Zelensky was in the Netherlands yesterday, where he obtained reassurances of another billion euros in aid and also commitments for the ‘Patriot’ anti-missile defense system. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren assured that the Netherlands is able to create the anti-aircraft shield “in a short time”, possessing the main components, while other parts and ammunition will arrive from other European countries. Zelensky has asked for a total of eight of these defense systems, seven of which should be provided by the United States. The goal, the president said, is to prevent Moscow from “hitting the electrical grid, the civilian areas and military objectives”.
The European countries allied with Kiev are confirming individual commitments to circumvent the veto that Hungary, a country sensitive to Moscow’s reasons, has placed on a new aid package mostly from the EU to Kiev worth 5.4 billion of euros.