Ukraine is still negotiating with Sweden on the transfer of Gripen fighter jets: the Presidential Administration discloses details

Ukraine is still negotiating with Sweden to receive Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighters. The first attempts to reach an understanding of this issue took place before Sweden joined NATO.

Currently, negotiations are taking place at the level of the Ministries of Defense of both countries, as well as at the highest level. This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva in an interview with Voice of America.

According to him, the topic of Ukraine's possible receipt of Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighters from Sweden is still open.

"This is a topic that my president constantly raises with the Swedish leadership. And it was like that even before Sweden joined NATO. For obvious reasons, they were not ready to make any promises then, as they were finalizing their membership in the Alliance. Now the country is in NATO, and my president is again in contact with the Swedish prime minister, and our defense ministry is in contact with the relevant Swedish authorities. These fighters are as good as F-16s and we are moving in this direction," Zhovkva emphasized.

The publication also reminded that earlier, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, speaking about these fighters, explained that they were not delivered because Ukraine believed that it would be too difficult to introduce both F-16 and Gripen at the same time. However, Billström emphasized at the time that official Stockholm remained open to discussing the supply of such aircraft to Ukraine.

"Sweden, and the Swedish government, has no restrictions on these discussions after the introduction of the F-16. But this decision was made by the Ukrainian government, not the Swedish government," the diplomat emphasized.

Will Swedish Gripen fighters help Ukraine

Interestingly, the military, both Western and Ukrainian, consider Swedish Gripen to be a good option for Ukraine.

"Gripen is a much smaller team that can land anywhere, refuel quickly, and take off quickly. It's a much harder target for Russia," said retired US Air Force Major General Charles Corcoran.

A pilot of the Ukrainian Air Force, nicknamed "Phantom," is also confident that these Swedish fighters would significantly strengthen Ukrainian aviation.

"This is a very modern aircraft, it has undergone many stages of modernization, and currently the official fleet that the Swedish Air Force has in its composition can both suppress enemy air defense forces, inflict pinpoint fire damage, and what is called a standoff weapon in English, that is, a weapon at a distance that does not allow you to hit your aircraft," the military man said in an interview with Voice of America back in February.

It was reported last fall that Sweden was preparing to potentially provide Ukraine with Gripen fighter jets. At that time, OBOZ.UA explained how they differ from the F-16 and which option is preferable for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The fact that Gripen would be a "good option" for Ukraine was also stated at the end of 2023 by the then spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ihnat, who said that at that time Ukrainian pilots had already tested these fighters.

In February 2024, the opposition in Sweden demanded that the Swedish government provide Ukraine with JAS-39 Gripen fighters.

However, already in May, several countries called on Sweden to pause the provision of Gripen fighters to Ukraine, citing the fact that it would be more appropriate to focus on American F-16 fighters at that time.

A few days ago, the Presidential Administration said that Sweden was ready to provide Gripen fighter jets and explained why Ukraine was not ready for them.

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