Belgium to transfer three F-16s to Ukraine this year, Zelenskiy says

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. REUTERS/CAITLIN OCHS/File Photo

KYIV, Sept 29 - Belgium will transfer three F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the year to help in its war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.

"There is an important agreement with Belgium on the transfer of three F-16 fighter jets by the end of this year," he wrote on X. "We will work to receive these aircraft through an accelerated procedure."

Zelenskiy said Ukraine had already received "urgent deliveries" of F-16 ammunition from Belgium and Spain, among other countries.

Zelenskiy said later in his nightly video address that Ukraine had received delivery the day before of a "very good" assistance package of a NASAMS air defence system, developed jointly in the US and Norway.

Zelenskiy expressed thanks on social media to the US and Norway.

He also said that talks were proceeding to ensure that Ukraine has a supply of missiles for the Patriot air defence system, which play a critical role in intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.

Zelenskiy said tests were continuing to improve the efficiency of Ukrainian interceptors against Russian jet-powered drones, which fly higher and faster than conventional drones.

Of more than 100 Russian drones deployed on Tuesday, he said, 29 were jet-powered and 18 of those had been downed. REUTERS