Ukraine’s Zelenskiy in Sweden for Gripen fighter jet announcement, source says

By Simon Johnson and Johan Ahlander

UPPSALA, Sweden, May 28 (Reuters) – Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Sweden on Thursday, the government said, and a source told Reuters they will announce news related to Gripen fighter jets.

Kristersson and Zelenskiy signed a letter of intent last year that could see Sweden sell up to 150 of its Saab Gripen model E fighter jets to Ukraine. But with deliveries several years away, there have also been discussions about transfers of existing, C/D model Swedish Gripens.

A source with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters that Thursday’s announcement will involve Gripen jets, but declined to elaborate.

Shares in Saab rose following the news and were up 5% at 0834 GMT.

The planes are ​a priority for Ukraine’s fighter fleet and the country’s defence minister said in May that a deal for Gripen E could be signed “within months” after the European Union approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine.

(Reporting by Simon Johnson, Johan Ahlander, Louise Rasmussen and Essi Lehto; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)