Sweden, Ukraine agree to share intelligence, speed up aid delivery
The Swedish Defense Ministry announced on July 13 new agreements with Ukraine on intelligence sharing and speeding up military equipment delivery.
Under this framework, Stockholm and Kyiv will be able to share confidential information concerning JAS Gripen jet fighters and other military equipment.
Sweden has previously agreed to train Ukrainian pilots on its Gripen jets but stopped short of providing the aircraft itself.
As another part of the new deal, the Swedish Defense Ministry will enable Ukraine to purchase military materiel directly from Sweden's defense industry to speed up the process.
The deals were signed at the NATO Vilnius summit on July 12 by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Sweden's Defense Minister Pål Jonson, and Göran Mårtensson, the director of the Swedish Defense Ministry's procurement agency.
"With the signing of these agreements, we're taking further steps to help strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities and enable the purchase of newly produced defense equipment direct from the industry," Jonson commented.
"We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes for them to win the war, regain their freedom and rebuild their country."
Representatives of Sweden and Ukraine, both seeking NATO membership, were present at the summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, which addressed both their entry bids and the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Although Ukraine did not receive the much-desired invitation, the Group of Seven has presented new security commitments to help Kyiv repel the Russian invasion and deter future aggression.
These commitments were supported in a joint statement by the leaders of the Nordic countries, including Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.
Martin Fornusek
