Swedish Opposition Calls for Sending Gripen Jets to Ukraine

The leader of Sweden’s largest opposition Social Democratic Party, former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, has called on the government to approve the provision of Swedish Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.

As SVT reports, Andersson emphasised at a press conference on Thursday that sending Swedish-made fighter jets would be of significant importance for Ukraine.

“We cannot allow Russia to win. The JAS Gripen would have significant importance for Ukraine,” said the leader of the Swedish Social Democrats.

However, she mentioned a condition for providing Gripen jets to Ukraine – Sweden’s NATO accession.

The Swedish Liberals also support providing fighter jets to Ukraine in case Sweden’s Alliance membership is completed.

“We have made significant investments both economically and militarily, but we also need to listen to Ukraine’s needs,” said Gulán Avci, a representative of the party, in an interview with SVT.

Following the statements from the opposition, Sweden’s Defence Minister, Pål Jonson, commented to Swedish Radio that he supports sending Gripen jets to Ukraine after Sweden’s NATO accession, and the government is already considering this issue.

Ukrainian pilots have already started learning Swedish Gripen fighter jets. The possibility of providing these jets was discussed during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Sweden.

However, later on, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that his country itself requires Gripen fighter jets. He denied all plans to send them to Ukraine at the moment.

2 comments

A better choice than F-16s! The more modern Gripen, with its STOL capabilities and the excellent Meteor missile, could become the icon of the Ukrainian Air Force, enabling Ukraine to gain air superiority. If only Sweden would rev up its production capacity. What’s the problem there, why the invitation to test the airplane while at the same time emphasizing that it ain’t available? The Swedish government makes no sense.