Sweden has officially handed Ukraine 16 JAS 39 Gripen C/D fighters, and signed off on the sale of another 20 new E/F models. With this, Ukraine also gets one of the most powerful air-to-air missiles in the world - the Meteor, with a range of up to 100 kilometres. Once this enters the airspace over Donbas, the numbers facing Russian pilots will change.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed the terms: the first C/D models arrive in early 2027, and delivery of the new E/F units will be staggered through 2030. The goal? Ukraine wants, long term, a fleet of up to 150 Gripens. Not for a prestige parade - for a complete air force. EU credit arrangements finance the whole package.

Zelensky's thanks were short: „Thank you to the people and government of Sweden for their principled position and their readiness to bring a just peace closer through real steps." Translated - real steps are fighters, not resolutions. Declarations in solemn tones don't shoot down possible Russian targets; missiles with a 100-kilometre range do.

For the Balkans, this is a quiet lesson in what „real support" actually looks like. When Sweden invests in a war on the other side of Europe, it's a statement about the kind of security they actually trust - not the persuasive kind, but the one delivered through weapons. Everything else is wedding talk in Brussels.