Belgium will not send fighter jets to Ukraine

Belgium will not be able to supply fighter jets to Ukraine because they are needed for the defence of the country, the Netherlands and NATO. Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said so Thursday as he arrived at the EU summit in Brussels.

"Our country needs its fighter jets; we cannot do without them. They are needed to defend NATO." De Croo said, adding that the planes defend the Baltic states and the airspace of Belgium and the Netherlands.

De Croo recalled that Belgium decided to provide "a very important package of military aid two weeks ago." In addition, the country and other partners are exploring how to provide more aid, "not only militarily but also in humanitarian terms so that the population can get through the winter."

Welcoming Ukraine's President Zelensky to the tarmac in Brussels on Thursday was "a very important moment" for De Croo. "A year ago, when he appeared before us by videoconference, he told us there was a good chance we would not see him again. Yet, a year later, we see that he can come here, go to Paris, go to London," the Belgian prime minister noted. "We are on the eve of a major Russian offensive, and it is more important than ever to be united", he concluded.

^{© Ruslan Kaniuka/Ukrinform/ABACAPRESS.COM}