Sweden announces 16th military aid package to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense

The Swedish government announced its 16th military aid package for Ukraine on 29 May, worth a record 13.3 billion Swedish kronor (around $1.26 billion), according to a press release from the Swedish Ministry of Defence. In the press release announcing the aid package, the Swedish Ministry of Defence reported that "Ukraine's needs are still great, and Russia is pressuring Ukraine on several fronts. Russia is intensifying its air strikes on both military and civilian targets.” The new package includes air surveillance planes, all of Sweden's Pansarbandvagn 302 armored personnel carriers for new Ukrainian brigades, AMRAAM air-to-air missiles usable on aircraft and ground air defenses, 155mm artillery ammunition, surplus Swedish tanks, and resources for maintenance of previously supplied equipment. After providing aid to Ukraine, Sweden will procure the Global Eye aircraft system and additional air-to-air missiles to avoid weakening its own defenses. Since the Russian aggression began in February 2022, Sweden has provided 43.5 billion kronor in military aid. On 22 May, the Swedish government approved an additional 75 billion kronor ($7.01 billion) in military aid for 2024-2026. Other Swedish assistance includes plans announced on 14 January for the defense industry to ramp up artillery ammunition production for Ukraine. In March, Sweden approved transferring Coast Guard water scooters and reportedly intends to allocate 30 million euros to support a Czech initiative sending hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds. Read also:

• Reuters: Russia plans to deploy up to 300,000 soldiers to Ukraine’s border
• Georgian parliament defies president’s veto, approves Russain-style ‘foreign agents’ law
• Russian strikes and propaganda target Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, says Borrell