Belgium will supply 30 of its F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by 2028, Foreign Minister Aja Labib said in an interview with RTL's La Matinale program on Tuesday, UNN reports.
Details
Belgium will offer Ukraine 30 of its F-16 fighter-bombers by 2028, with the first planes to be delivered again "by the end of this year," the country's foreign minister said Tuesday.
This commitment will be formalized in an agreement to be signed this Tuesday in Brussels on the occasion of the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Belgian capital, the head of Belgian diplomacy said.
Belgium joined the "F-16 coalition" last year, along with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway, to provide Ukraine with fighter-bombers to counter the Russian offensive. Initially, Belgium was only involved in training, technical and logistical support. But last fall, the Belgian government promised to also provide a certain number of aircraft as soon as the first F-35s were delivered to Ukraine.
The Belgian Defense Ministry will reportedly also take ammunition from its warehouses to equip the F-16s destined for Ukraine.
According to Ms. Labib, this support of Ukraine is necessary to stop Vladimir Putin, who, in her words, is determined to move the borders of European countries, and to ensure the security of Belgium.
Could Russian tanks one day invade Brussels? "If we allow (Vladimir Putin) to do that, it is not an impossible scenario," the Belgian diplomat said.
