Ukraine and Belgium sign bilateral security agreement, securing €977 mln for Ukraine in 2024

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander de Croo. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

Ulyana Guz

President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, signed an Agreement on cooperation in security and long-term support with the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, while visiting Brussels.

The President's Office reports this.

"In this agreement, it is stipulated for the first time that Ukraine will receive 30 F-16 fighters by 2028, with the first batch arriving this year. The agreement ensures that Belgium will provide necessary security assistance, including modern armored vehicles, equipment for the Ukrainian Air Force and Air Defense Forces, protection for the Navy, demining support, participation in the artillery coalition, and military training," the president said.

^{Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine}

Belgium will allocate at least 977 million euros for military aid to Ukraine this year. This document enshrines this obligation and the readiness to support Ukraine during the ten-year agreement term.

Belgium also guarantees that it will provide:

• timely security assistance,
• modern military equipment,
• and weapons, taking into account the needs of Ukraine in the field of air force and air defense, maritime security, demining, and within the coalition on ammunition issues and will facilitate military training.

^{Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine}

Separate blocks of the document are devoted to bilateral cooperation in the defense industry, support of the Ukrainian peace formula, strengthening of sanctions, compensation for damages, bringing the aggressor to justice, using confiscated Russian assets for Ukraine's needs, and assistance in economic recovery and reconstruction. Cooperation in the fields of intelligence, cyber security, and combating disinformation will be deepened.

In the agreement, Belgium clearly confirms its support for Ukraine's future membership in the EU and NATO.

Belgium is the 11th country with which Ukraine concluded a bilateral security agreement to implement the provisions of the G7 Joint Declaration.

^{Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine}

It should be noted that on May 27, Zelensky visited Spain.

In particular, King Philip VI gave Zelensky a reception. Moreover, Ukraine's president with the heads of chambers and factions of the Spanish Parliament.

The parties also signed a security agreement, and Madrid announced a new military aid package for Kyiv.

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For reference:

It should be noted that on July 12, 2023, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the leaders of the G7 countries agreed on a Joint Declaration of support for Ukraine. The document discussed, in particular, the work on specific bilateral long-term obligations and agreements in the security field.

President Volodymyr Zelensky approved the delegation to negotiate security guarantees for Ukraine in January. The delegation, led by the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, was appointed according to the president's decree.

As of today, Ukraine has already signed bilateral security agreements with nine states, namely:

• Great Britain,
• Germany,
• France,
• Denmark,
• Canada,
• Italy,
• the Netherlands,
• Finland,
• Latvia.

Thirty-two countries joined this initiative, and Great Britain became the first to enter a final agreement.

Currently, Ukraine and Sweden have started negotiations to conclude a bilateral security agreement. Also, on May 24, Kyiv and Warsaw started official talks on the text of the agreement on security guarantees between the states.

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Бельгія виділить понад 200 млн доларів на ініціативу ППО для України та поставить літаки F-16 вже цього року