IRIA News

During a tour of three European Union countries on May 27-28, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed three security cooperation agreements with Spain, Belgium, and Portugal, and received assurance of billions of dollars in military aid.

The billion-dollar military aid pledge came from Belgium, which committed to provide 30 F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv over the next four years.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo assured that his country will continue its efforts to enhance the capability of Ukrainian security and defense forces to protect themselves against current Russian aggression, deter future aggression, and improve the compatibility of Ukrainian forces and equipment with NATO standards.

Similar to the agreement signed between Ukraine and France, there will also be a dominant cooperation between Belgium and Ukraine in the fields of intelligence, cybersecurity, and combating disinformation.

Adding to the support, the Netherlands promised to swiftly collaborate with key EU partners to assemble a Patriot air defense system. Zelenskyy views this system as crucial for preventing Russia from targeting the power grid, civilian areas, and military targets with devastating glide bombs that cause extensive destruction.

I visited the Melsbroek military base, where our servicemen are being trained.

Ukraine is looking forward to receiving F-16 fighter jets from its Western partners to strengthen the defense of our skies. We are also waiting for our warriors, who are training to maintain F-16s, at… pic.twitter.com/dePMht4gWJ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 28, 2024

“Three more clear voices in support of the Peace Summit, three more Security Agreements for Ukraine, and three more principled affirmations of our goal: Ukraine’s full integration into the European community. Joint projects in weapons production, equipment, and ammunition, as well as the upcoming use of F-16s in our skies by our warriors, will provide even more Ukrainian tools for protecting lives,” Zelenskyy said in a statement at the end of his trip to Europe.

During his visit to Belgium, President of Ukraine Zelenskyy also visited the Melsbroek military base. According to the Presidential Office statement, Zelenskyy viewed F-16 fighter jets and talked with Belgian pilot instructors and Ukrainian military personnel training there.

The Ukrainian president was also informed in detail about the combat characteristics and technical specifications of the F-16 aircraft, as well as about the training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16s, the statement highlighted.

Bilateral security agreements

While in Madrid, Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security agreement with Spain that would allocate $1.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine for 2024, and $5.4 billion by 2027. A similar bilateral security agreement was also signed with Portugal.

Portugal is one of Western Europe’s poorest countries and has a small military budget compared with its bigger EU partners. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said Portugal is sending a further $136 million in military and financial aid to Kyiv as part of a broad cooperation plan.

These bilateral aid agreements are crucial for Kyiv as the 27-nation EU bloc is again facing Hungary’s objections to collectively providing billions of euros in military aid to Kyiv, now in its third year of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Approximately $7 billion is stalled by the Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, regarded as Russia’s staunchest ally within the EU. Hungary’s veto power has long delayed funds aimed at enhancing Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

Ukraine has already signed bilateral security agreements with 12 countries, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Latvia, Spain, and Portugal. These agreements were signed to implement the provisions of the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, adopted in Vilnius on July 12, 2023.