Media: EU to fund Ukraine’s purchase of Swedish Gripen fighter Jets

A total of €2.5 billion out of the €3.47 billion transferred to Ukraine by the European Union on July 30 as part of defence payments under a €90 billion loan package will be allocated for the purchase of 16 Swedish-made Gripen E fighter jets for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, European Pravda reports, citing sources.

In an official statement, the European Commission said that part of the €3.47 billion tranche transferred to Ukraine on July 30 would be used to purchase Gripen fighter jets.

European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari confirmed the information but declined to specify the number of aircraft to be purchased or the amount allocated for the deal.

Later, European Pravda learned from its own sources that €2.5 billion from the €3.47 billion tranche would be directed toward the purchase of Gripen fighters.

As previously reported, Ukraine plans to purchase 16 Gripen fighter jets from Sweden in the near future.

Given that manufacturing new aircraft for Ukraine will take time, Sweden is expected to provide Kyiv with older-model aircraft already in service with its armed forces free of charge in 2026. Ukraine expects to receive the first newly produced Gripen fighters in 2027.

By Jeyhun Aghazada