https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-defense/3885269-ukraine-sweden-negotiating-gripen-supplies.html
Ukraine and Sweden are in talks on the potential supply of the Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets to strengthen Ukraine’s air force capabilities.
Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Ihor Zhovkva, said this in an interview with the Voice of America, Ukrinform reports.
“This is a topic that my President constantly raises before the leadership of Sweden. And it had been the case even before Sweden joined NATO. For obvious reasons, they were not ready to make any promises at the time as they were finalizing their membership of the Alliance. Now the country is in NATO, and my President is again communicating with the Prime Minister of Sweden, and our Ministry of Defense is in contact with the relevant Swedish authorities. These fighter jets are as good as the F-16 and we are moving in that direction,” Zhovkva said.
Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Tobias Billström, said Sweden did not supply fighter jets to Ukraine because Ukraine concluded it would be too difficult to deploy two fighter jet systems at the same time (F-16 and Gripen).
At the same time, according to the head of the Swedish Foreign Ministry, his country remains open to supplying these capabilities to Kyiv.
Sweden and the Swedish government have no restrictions on these discussions once the F-16s are deployed, but that decision was made by the Ukrainian government, not the Swedish one, the diplomat said.
According to U.S. Air Force Major General (retired) Charles Corcoran, Gripes have significant advantages.
“Gripen implies a much smaller crew, it can land anywhere, refuel quickly, and take off quickly. This is a much more challenging target for Russia,” he said.
As reported by Ukrinform, on May 31 Billström stated Sweden may hand over its Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine after F-16 aircraft arrive.
乌克兰通讯社报道，乌克兰总统办公室副主任伊霍尔·若夫克瓦在接受美国之音采访时表示，乌克兰和瑞典正在就可能供应萨博 JAS-39 鹰狮战斗机以加强乌克兰空军能力进行谈判。
若夫克瓦 说，“这是我们总统不断向瑞典领导人提出的一个话题。在瑞典加入北约之前就已经如此。出于显而易见的原因，他们在最终确定加入北约时还没有准备好做出任何承诺。现在该国加入了北约，我们总统再次与瑞典首相沟通，我们的国防部正在与瑞典相关当局联系。这些战斗机与 F-16 一样好，我们正在朝着这个方向努力。”
此前，瑞典外交大臣托比亚斯·比尔斯特伦表示，瑞典没有向乌克兰提供战机，因为乌克兰认为同时部署两套战机系统（F-16和鹰狮）太困难。
与此同时，瑞典外交部长表示，瑞典仍然愿意向基辅提供这些能力。
这位外交官说，一旦 F-16 部署，瑞典和瑞典政府对这些讨论没有任何限制，但该决定是由乌克兰政府而不是瑞典政府做出的。
据美国空军少将（退役）查尔斯·科克伦 (Charles Corcoran) 介绍，Gripes 具有明显的优势。
他说，“鹰狮战机的机组人员数量要少得多，它可以在任何地方降落、快速加油并快速起飞。这对俄罗斯来说是一个更具挑战性的目标。”
据乌克兰通报社报道，5月31日，比尔斯特伦表示，瑞典可能会在F-16战机抵达乌克兰后向乌克兰提供其鹰狮战机。
