Kiev and Stockholm have agreed to work on a major long-term arms contract under which Sweden would provide between 100 and 150 domestically-produced Gripen fighter jets, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced on Wednesday.
The meeting came a day after the Ukrainian parliament approved amendments to this year’s budget that increased military spending by additional 325 billion hryvnia ($7.7 billion), bringing it to a record 2.96 trillion hryvnia ($70.86 billion).
The two sides have yet to ink the deal, with Sweden only confirming that it had signed a letter of intent on the issue. Zelensky insisted that both parties should ensure that Kiev’s forces start operating Gripen jets “next year.”