Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is convinced that more, faster and better needs to be done to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

He said this on Tuesday in Brussels during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which took place after the signing of an agreement on security guarantees. According to him, one thing remains clear and understandable - the Ukrainian people deserve the necessary tools to protect themselves against this illegal aggression. They will continue to support the Ukrainian Defense Forces through training, for example in the maritime sector, mine clearance and F16 management. This will all happen in the second half of the year. Belgium will also provide maintenance services for these aircraft. I want to say clearly: we need to do more, we need to do it faster and better, De Croo said.

The Prime Minister of Belgium, commenting on the signed agreement, expressed confidence that this document would provide and expand assistance to Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. Belgium will continue to do this as long as necessary. Belgium provided military support from the very beginning of the conflict. With this agreement, we confirm that we will continue to do this, he assured.

According to him, this year alone military assistance to Belgium amounted to more than EUR 1 billion. The current agreement provides an opportunity to provide Ukraine with the necessary modern military equipment and support for its defense industry. In this agreement, the parties have primarily focused on military public protection needs - the air defense systems, artillery, defense equipment and F16 fighters that have been talked about for a long time. These fighters will arrive in Ukraine as soon as possible, our goal is to deliver the first aircraft by the end of this year, De Croo added.