In peacetime, no matter Russia or Ukraine, there is always more room for change in how to build its own conventional military strength. During the current wartime, Sweden has sold many fighter jets to Ukraine, but it really doesn't know whether it can recover the cost. Do you really think Ukraine is not short of money?

Wen| Haishangke

Ukrainian President Zelensky announced on October 24, local time, that Ukraine had signed the first document with Sweden on the formation of the "Gripen" fighter fleet. This is the news of Anadolu News Agency of Turkey quoted by the World Wide Web.

Zelensky claimed that the agreement was a "historic step" in strengthening Ukraine's air power and long-term security.

On October 23, local time, Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson (right) and Ukrainian Prime Minister Zelensky spoke in front of a Gripen E fighter jet

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After all, without the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February 2022, Sweden and Finland, the two countries that have long remained neutral since the Cold War era, would not have chosen to join NATO so quickly.

The reason why the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out fiercely in February 2022 is due to multiple historical and present factors. As far as Russia is concerned, it said that the reason why the Russian army started "special military operations" is that Ukraine is preparing to join NATO and already has an actual path. In Russia, this is unacceptable.

In June 2021, when Russian President Putin met with then-US President Biden in Switzerland, when he talked about the reunification of the two Germans, the West promised that NATO would not expand east, and the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its troops stationed in eastern Germany.

Although Russia and Ukraine are both sovereign states, in Russia's view, if Ukraine joins NATO, it is equivalent to Western military forces advancing to Russia's doorstep and directly threatening Moscow. In addition, many people in Russia believe that Kiev is the birthplace of the Russian nation, which is of the same origin as the Ukraine nation. All this makes Russia unwilling to accept Ukraine's accession to NATO.

Unexpectedly, after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, Finland and Sweden immediately chose to join NATO.

In March 2024, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson (left) and then NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg attended a joint press conference Photo: Xinhua News Agency

In fact, this is a major blow to Russia. After all, how did Russia persuade itself, in the case of not accepting Ukraine to join NATO, but accepted suddenly Sweden, Finland to join NATO. In history, Finland was part of Imperial Russia; in the Soviet era, the Suvens war also broke out. Sweden has also fought with Russia in history and lost territory.

From this point of view, Russia certainly does not want Sweden and Finland to join NATO.

Now, Sweden, which has recently joined NATO, has "joined hands" with Ukraine and has begun to sell its flagship product "Gripen" fighter jet to Ukraine.

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A careful examination of the document between Ukraine and Sweden shows that Ukraine is preparing to import 150 "Eagle Lion" fighter jets from Sweden.

For Sweden, it is equivalent to getting a large order for the so-called four-generation fighter jets.

For Ukraine, although there are still some MiG-29 fighters in the hand, as well as a small number of Su-27 fighters, as well as F-16 fighters supported by NATO countries such as the United States after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, overall, the following features are presented:

The picture shows the Ukraine MiG-29 fighter jet

First of all, fighter models are complicated. The MiG-29 is Ukraine's main fighter jet and has a large number. The Su-27 was developed and equipped with the Soviet army in the late Soviet Union. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the number of Su-27 fighter equipment left in Ukraine was extremely large, and Ukraine lacked good maintenance capabilities for the Su-27.

Secondly, even if some NATO countries later provided support fighter jets to Ukraine, it was not enough. For example, some former Warsaw Pact countries handed over MiG-29 fighter jets that were still in use to Ukraine. However, the performance, maintenance levels, etc. of these fighter jets are not as good as those of Ukraine's own preservation.

As for the U.S.-supported F-16, for Ukraine, it does not belong to those who can use it instantly! even Ukrainian pilots, who want to manipulate the F-16, have to step up learning English, as well as learning the F-16's handling skills.

In addition, from Soviet-made MiG and Soviet fighter jets to American fighter jets, Zelensky once asked Germany for "Tornado" fighter jets, and France continued to promote "Rafale" fighter jets to Ukraine, making Ukraine a fighter jets. Encountered difficulties in choosing! Before this difficulty, Ukraine had to face the fact that it already had a variety of styles and series of fighter jets on hand. As a result, the logistics department simply can't stand it! Is it possible that it is equipped with multiple logistics supply systems?

But from the point of view of Ukraine and Sweden's signing plans to buy "Eagle Lion" fighter jets, 150 is not a small number. If Ukraine can really "eat" the 150 "Eagle Lion", it is likely that this will establish a newer logistics system such as fighter maintenance and maintenance. Haiti believes that if it goes well, Ukraine will not rule out the overall purchase of "Eagle Lion" fighter jets as the main force of the national army.

Ukraine Su-27 fighter captured in 2019

Although twenty years ago, the "Eagle Lion" fighter aircraft was considered a bright presence in the same generation of level fighter aircraft, but the time is easy to move! Today's world, like the "Eagle Lion" American standard three-generation aircraft, Russian standard four-generation aircraft, is no longer considered a more advanced fighter aircraft. Its competitiveness, in fact, is relative to the American F-16 and the Soviet Su-27 and so on, and compared with the Russian production of the subsequent model of the Su-27, and the Su-30 and so on, it seems to be somewhat behind the times!

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It has to be said here that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not over yet, and supplying weapons to both parties to the conflict is actually not conducive to the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Pay attention to developments in Ukraine:

First, it claimed to introduce Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, but they were directly vetoed by US President Trump at the White House.

Now it has indeed reached an agreement with Sweden to introduce fighter jets.

Attention should also be paid to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed the land, sea and air strategic nuclear force exercise. I still remember that when the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, Putin held similar exercises; when the four eastern Ukrainian states declared a "referendum to join Russia" and Russia declared that the four states would be included in the main body of The Russian Federation, Putin conducted similar exercises.

What does Putin mean by doing similar exercises now?

Putin holds strategic nuclear force exercises: Central TV news quotes Kremlin map

Nuclear war cannot be fought and cannot be won! This is the consensus of the world. But at this moment, Ukraine has spent a lot of money to buy fighter jets from Sweden, a country that has recently joined NATO. The number is not small, and it feels really exciting!

I always hope that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine can be resolved through peaceful negotiations as soon as possible!

In peacetime, no matter Russia or Ukraine, there is always more room for change in how to build its own conventional military strength. During the current wartime, Sweden has sold many fighter jets to Ukraine, but it really doesn't know whether it can recover the cost. Do you really think Ukraine is not short of money?