Sweden pledges $1.6 bn in new military aid to Ukraine: govt

Sweden pledges $1.6 bn in new military aid to Ukraine: govt

Sweden will donate 16 billion kronor ($1.6 billion) in fresh military aid to Ukraine, the government said on Monday -- the largest such package from the Nordic country since Russia's 2022 invasion.

Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson told reporters that Sweden wanted "to send the message now that we are both intensifying our support and increasing its strength and scope."

"There are strong reasons to do so in light of the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine," Jonson added.

The majority of the aid package, nine billion kronor, would go towards the acquisition of newly produced materials, "mainly from the Swedish, but also the European defence industrial base."

The materials would be selected judged by "Ukrainian needs," the government said.

About five billion kronor would go towards the Ukrainian defence industry and different funds.

Around half a billion would be made up of donations from the Swedish Armed Forces existing stockpiles.

Jonson stressed that the war was in a "critical stage."

"Now, all our focus is on supporting Ukraine as much as possible so that they can come into a position of strength during these negotiations," the defence minister said.

The latest package is the 19th tranche of military aid that Sweden has provided to Ukraine, with the total estimated at 80 billion kronor, according to the government.

When it announced the previous aid package in January, Sweden said that it was moving from donating weapons from stockpiles to purchasing new arms.

Earlier in March it said it would donate 18 of its home-developed Archer mobile artillery systems to Ukraine, of which had previously donated eight of.

The country has already sent 50 of its CV90 armoured combat vehicles and "around 10" Leopard 2 tanks, as well as anti-air missile systems.