Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on an official visit to Belgium, arriving in the country on Tuesday evening. During his visit, he is scheduled to meet with Belgian Prime Minister

Alexander De Croo on Wednesday. The meeting will also include the participation of Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib, Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder, and Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez. Discussions will focus on various matters, including Belgium's upcoming presidency of the European Union and bilateral agreements.

Zelensky has persistently sought Western allies' assistance in acquiring fighter planes to aid Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Prime Minister De Croo mentioned the war, stating, "Ukraine will be liberated. To achieve this, it must establish control over its airspace, which is essential to halt the devastating aerial attacks. As a member of the F-16 coalition, along with 15 other countries, we are committed to assisting in this endeavor."

Belgium has yet to commit to supplying F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine but has expressed willingness to support Ukraine by providing training for its pilots. Among the political parties, the liberal party MR is particularly advocating for delivering fighter planes to Ukraine. However, the Ministry of Defense has stated that this is not operationally feasible since Belgium requires the aircraft for its own training purposes and for the defense of the airspace over the Benelux and the Baltic states. Photo by President Of Ukraine from Україна, Wikimedia commons.