MOSCOW, September 12 The Swedish government is going to instruct the Ministry of Defense to consider the conditions to transfer Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, Sveriges Radio reported on Tuesday, citing a source.
In August, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that the kingdom does not plan to supply Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.
“Soon the government will instruct the Ministry of Defense to assess the conditions for sending Gripen fighters to Ukraine,” the radio station reports.
The government needs to know how the transfer will affect Sweden's defense capabilities and how soon the country will be able to receive replacement fighters. Another important issue is training of Ukrainian pilots and other personnel, the source reports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov previously noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. He warned that as the West pumps Ukraine with increasingly long-range weapons, the geographical objectives of the special operation are moving further and further from the current line. The West must understand that supplying arms to Ukraine will not strengthen its security, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. Lavrov also emphasized that the United States and its satellites create risks of a direct armed conflict with Russia, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences. According to him, the fact that Kiev has F-16 fighters capable of carrying nuclear weapons will be considered by Russia as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere.