Belgium Pledges to Deliver 30 F-16 Jets to Ukraine by 2028

Belgium has committed to delivering 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by 2028 to aid in the battle against Russia's invasion. The pledge was announced at the start of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Belgium on Tuesday.

Zelensky and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo signed a bilateral security and long-term support agreement, marking the latest in a series of similar accords between Ukraine and its Western allies.

"For the first time, such an agreement specifies the exact number of F-16 fighter jets -- 30 -- that will be delivered to Ukraine until 2028," Zelensky announced on X.

The Ukrainian president mentioned that the first aircraft would be "arriving already this year."

However, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib tempered expectations, stating, "we hope deliveries will start at the end of this year."

The agreement also includes at least 977 million euros in Belgian military aid to Ukraine this year, with a commitment of continued support over the next decade.

Zelensky arrived in Brussels from Spain on Monda, May 27,  as part of a tour of several European countries to rally support for Ukraine.

During his visit, he planned to hold a press conference with De Croo and visit a military airbase in Brussels, where Ukrainian pilots are being trained to fly F-16s.

Belgium had previously pledged to supply F-16 aircraft to Kyiv as part of a broader initiative by European allies. Overall, Brussels has committed 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in military support for Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion.

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A day earlier, Spain pledged one billion euros in military aid, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Zelensky signing their own security deal in Madrid.

Zelensky's tour comes as Ukraine faces a Russian ground offensive in the Kharkiv region, where Moscow has recently made its largest territorial gains in 18 months. After Belgium, Zelensky is set to visit Portugal later on Tuesday.

With the conflict now in its third year, Ukraine has been urgently seeking more weapons to bolster its air defenses and support its outgunned troops. Zelensky is also working to garner support for a peace conference scheduled to be held in Switzerland next month, reiterating Kyiv's rejection of any invitations to Russia.