Sweden must first become a NATO member before it can send fighter jets to Ukraine, according to its Defense Minister Pal Jonson.
Sweden will send Ukraine a new military support package worth 2.2 billion crowns ($199 million), consisting mainly of artillery ammunition, and is looking into sending fighter jets, Jonson said Friday.
Jonson told a news conference the armed forces were due to report by Nov. 6 on the potential for sending Jas Gripen jets to Ukraine after the government asked them to assess the issue.
But he reiterated that Sweden would for domestic security reasons need to become a member of NATO before it would be able to potentially spare any fighter jets.
The new military aid package will be Sweden's 14th to Ukraine since Russia's invasion, taking the total value of the Nordic country's such aid to just over 22 billion crowns.
"We need to design our support so that it's long-term and sustainable," Jonson said. "It is now important that more countries step up to support Ukraine."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday warned European leaders at an informal meeting in Granada, Spain that Russia could attack other countries within five years if Europe were to waver in its support.
Sweden hopes to join the NATO defense alliance soon although its accession has been held up by member states Türkiye and Hungary.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, abandoning policies of military non-alignment that had lasted through the Cold War. Türkiye approved Finland’s application earlier this year but Swedish membership still awaits parliamentary ratification.
At the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he would send Stockholm’s bid to the Turkish Parliament for discussions but Stockholm is still doubtful about an approval being issued this month and several sticking points complicate matters.
Ankara has criticized Stockholm for doing too little against terrorist groups, including the PKK and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Both have a presence in Sweden, which only recently started taking concrete steps for the extradition of people linked to the PKK while fugitive members of FETÖ still reside in the Nordic country.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S., U.K. and EU, which includes Sweden – has been waging a bloody terrorist campaign against the Turkish state since the 1980s and is responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Last month, PKK sympathizers held provocative demonstrations in Stockholm, including one in front of the Swedish Parliament where they burnt a so-called effigy of Erdoğan.
The supporters of the terrorist group carried out a provocative act by putting LGBT symbols on the so-called effigy of Erdoğan at an LGBT rally held in Stockholm. The stunt was staged during the Stockholm Pride Parade event, which was also attended by Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson.
In January, terror supporters gathered in front of the historical City Hall in the capital Stockholm, hung a figure of Erdoğan in effigy by the feet on a pole in front of the building and shared video footage of the moment on social media.
Since then, several incidents involving the burning of Islam’s holy book Quran have further stoked tensions.
