Sweden will provide 3 billion crowns ($287 million) in additional military aid to Ukraine, its largest shipment of defence material to date, including an air defence system, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced.
Sweden’s previous contributions to NATO, along with neighbouring Finland, have varied from simple equipment such as helmets and body armour to rocket-propelled grenades and missiles.
‘It’s a larger military support package than the previous eight packages combined,’ Kristersson said at a press conference. ‘It’s the single largest we’ve done, and we perfectly follow the Ukrainian priority list of what they think they need right now.’
Defence Minister Pal Jonson said the fresh consignment of military equipment includes an air defence system and ammunition from its armed services’ stockpiles, which were critical in defending Ukraine against a recent attack of Russian missiles.
Sweden’s previous Social Democrat government, which was defeated by Kristersson’s right-wing coalition in September elections, had agreed to several tranches of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine totaling well over a billion crowns.
The Archer artillery system has been on Ukraine’s wish list for some time but was not included in the new aid package, though Jonson did not rule it out in the future and stated that more assistance would be forthcoming.
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