Sweden said Thursday it will donate 16 of its existing Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine and agreed with Kyiv on an initial purchase of 20 of the latest Gripen E model, a step that gives Ukraine a new Western combat aircraft just as the war enters another hard stretch.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the announcement after visiting an airbase in Uppsala, 70km north of Stockholm, and the timing matters because Ukraine is still fighting for better air cover after a deadly Russian barrage on Kyiv on Sunday. The donated aircraft are due in early 2027, while the first Gripen E jets are tied to a longer-term plan that both governments want to move toward quickly.
Ulf Kristersson called the decision historic and said it would strengthen Ukraine’s air defence significantly. He also said the aim was to conclude a final agreement quickly, with deliveries beginning as of 2030. That matters because the Gripen can be armed with Meteor air-to-air missiles, giving Ukraine another modern platform to pair with the weapons it has spent months urging its partners to send.
The deal is larger than the first purchase. Sweden and Ukraine have discussed a long-term arrangement that could eventually cover as many as 150 Gripen E jets, but Zelenskyy said financing for the full package has not yet been secured. “We hope we will be able to secure financing for all of them,” he said, putting a clear limit on how far the plan can go for now.
That unresolved financing gap is the story behind the celebration. Ukraine is securing new fighter jets at a pace it has long sought, but the biggest question is no longer whether Sweden is willing to sell and donate them. It is whether Kyiv can pay for the fleet it says it needs, and whether the promises now on paper can become aircraft in the sky by 2027 and then again from 2030 onward.
