Greece to send 32 decommissioned F-16 jets to Ukraine
- 16 July, 09:09
Greece will send up to 32 decommissioned and older F-16 Block-30 fighter jets to Ukraine amid NATO’s efforts to boost Kyiv’s defences against Russia.
According to Al Jazeera’s sources, Greece has proposed sending the decommissioned F-16s to the US for upgrades before transferring them to Ukraine. However, concerns exist about the impact on Greece’s air defense capabilities, as some officials believe this transfer could create a significant gap.
The decision about F-16s’ transfer follows a narrowly avoided incident on 6 March, when a Russian missile struck near Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Odesa, Konstantin Filis, political analyst and the director of the Institute of Global Affairs at the American College of Greece has said. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Filis told that the incident was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message to Greece and to the “Russophilic portion of Greek society”.
It should be noted that Athens has been supporting Kyiv since Russia launched its full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2020. In the early days of invasion, Greece sent two C-130 planeloads of military equipment to Ukraine, drawing criticism from Russia, with the Kremlin threatening Athens “to come to its senses” and “stop anti-Russian propaganda”. Despite Kremlin’s criticism, Greece has continued supplying Ukraine with additional military aid that includes Singer missiles, artillery shells and armored personnel carriers.
An unnamed diplomatic source has told Al Jazeera that Greece and Ukraine are currently negotiating a 10-year assistance agreement, adding that Athens in theory, could offer antiaircraft guns and S-300 air defence systems to Ukraine.
