Greece draws Russian ire over strong support for Ukraine

Greece is preparing to retire 32 older F-16 Block-30 fighter jets while modernizing 82 F-16s to Block-70 specifications and acquiring 24 Rafale fighters from France.

Additionally, a US congressional committee has approved Greece's potential purchase of up to 40 F-35 fifth-generation multirole jets, which Ukraine has expressed interest in obtaining, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

Reports suggest Ukraine could potentially receive 60 decommissioned F-16s from Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands, while stating a need for approximately 150 jets. Greece's decision to decommission 32 jets would partially help address this demand.

According to sources speaking to Al Jazeera, Greece's preferred plan for transferring those jets involves selling them back to the US, which would then upgrade them and pass them on to Kyiv. However, some military experts are apprehensive about giving away dozens of fighter jets, citing security concerns that both drive Greek policy in favor of Ukraine and constrain it.

"Unfortunately, due to our neighbors, we are compelled to maintain very robust armed forces," an air force engineer told Al Jazeera anonymously. "The sale of 32 F-16s ... would create a significant gap in the air force ... There needs to be a fleet of around 200 aircraft, which cannot be achieved with more modern and expensive fighter jets."

Greece's early support for Ukraine prompted the Russian embassy in Athens to urge "very senior politicians" to reconsider and cease what they termed as "anti-Russian propaganda."

Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova criticized Greece's decision to send weapons to Ukraine, labeling it as "deeply mistaken" and "criminal."

She warned of potential repercussions, suggesting that the weapons could eventually be used against civilians, including ethnic Greeks in besieged Ukrainian towns like Mariupol and Odesa, where approximately 150,000 ethnic Greek Ukrainians resided at the time.

Konstantinos Filis, a professor of international relations and director of the Institute of Global Affairs at the American College of Greece, commented on the strained relations, noting that "the Russians are very displeased with the Greeks" due to Greece's clear and early support for Ukraine.