OMM Newsroom
Belgium plans to deliver 10 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this year to help strengthen the country’s defence capabilities, Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Thursday.
Speaking after the first day of an EU summit in Brussels, De Wever said he had discussed Ukraine’s military needs with President Volodymyr Zelensky during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the gathering.
“We will supply 10 this year. We have fallen a little behind because of delays with the F-35s, but those are now starting to arrive, which will enable us to send F-16s to Ukraine,” De Wever said.
He said Ukraine urgently needed operational fighter jets and described F-16s as among the few weapons capable of effectively defending against “Russian jet-powered drones”.
The leaders also discussed the possibility of Belgium supplying ammunition for the F-16s, including some produced by Belgian defence company “FN Herstal”.
They discussed Ukraine’s funding needs, but De Wever did not elaborate on the possibility of using frozen Russian assets, held largely at Belgium-based “Euroclear”, to support Ukraine.
Belgium had previously opposed a proposal to use the frozen assets to finance a reparations loan for Ukraine, citing potential legal and financial risks.
