STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will visit Sweden on Wednesday to meet Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the city of Linkoping, where they plan to visit a company, the Swedish government said, without identifying it.
Linkoping is the manufacturing hub of defence contractor Saab, the maker of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet, the GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, missile systems, anti-tank infantry weapons and other equipment.
“The prime minister and President Zelenskiy will hold a joint press conference to present news regarding defence exports,” the Swedish government said in Wednesday’s statement.
A spokesperson for the prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kristersson said this month that he and Zelenskiy had discussed Kyiv’s interest in Saab’s Gripen jet at a meeting of European leaders in Copenhagen.
“A strong and capable Ukraine is a key priority for Sweden, and we will continue to make sure Ukraine can fight back against Russia’s aggression,” Kristersson said on X.
“Looking forward to discussing how to further our cooperation – we have a lot to learn from each other.”
The possibility of supplying Gripens to Ukraine has been under consideration over the past two years but was put on hold to allow Kyiv to focus on the introduction of American-made F-16 fighters that it began deploying last August.
Still, Ukrainian pilots have been in Sweden to test the Gripen and help smooth any eventual export of the jets.
On Wednesday, a Saab spokesperson referred all questions about the event to the government.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Niklas Pollard; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Clarence Fernandez.)
