Belgium commits USD 1 bn for Ukraine

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo in Brussels on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday picked up a second USD 1 billion promise of military aid in as many days for his war with Russia during a whirlwind tour through the European Union. The pledge came from Belgium, which topped up the money with a commitment to give 30 F-16 fighter jets over the next four years.

The Netherlands added to the goodwill by promising to quickly assemble with key EU partners a Patriot air defence system, which Zelenskyy sees as key in stopping Russia from hitting the power grid and civilian areas, as well as military targets, with devastating glide bombs that wreak wide destruction.

A day earlier, Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security agreement with Spain that allocates 1 billion euros (USD 1.1 billion) of military aid to Ukraine in 2024, and 5 billion euros (USD 5.4 billion) by 2027. The bilateral aid is essential since the 27-nation bloc is again struggling to overcome Hungary's objections to the bloc itself providing billions of euros in military aid to Kyiv, which is in its third year of war following Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion.

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