Sweden pledges $1.4 bn for Ukraine air defence, drones

STOCKHOLM: Sweden on Thursday announced $1.4 billion in military aid for Ukraine, focused primarily on air defence capabilities.
Defence Minister Pal Jonson said that the military aid package was “the third largest so far that Sweden has delivered to Ukraine.”
“That is to say, air defence and sustaining the platforms we have delivered with ammunition,” Jonson said. Some 4.3 billion kronor would go to delivering to Ukraine an “advanced short-range air defence capability,” according to the government.
This would include additional units of the TRIDON Mk2 mobile anti-aircraft artillery system, which Sweden announced in early February it was supplying to Ukraine. Jonson said the aim was to have the systems delivered to Ukraine within 24 months.
The remainder of the funds would go towards large quantities of ammunition, including long-range artillery shells, as well as training and the expansion of a cooperation project with Ukraine on long-range drones. The funds are part of Sweden’s yearly allocated 40-billion-kronor budget for Ukraine aid. — AFP