Sweden will send a batch of main battle tanks to Ukraine in a move set to help European countries fulfill their pledges and shore up the country’s ability to fight back against Russian attacks.
(Bloomberg) — Sweden will send a batch of main battle tanks to Ukraine in a move set to help European countries fulfill their pledges and shore up the country’s ability to fight back against Russian attacks.
The Swedish government’s decision to send about 10 tanks based on Germany’s Leopard 2 marks a major push by Ukraine’s allies to help its army handle an expected intensification of fighting in coming weeks.
Hours later on Friday, the Defense Ministry in Berlin said Germany will send 18 Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine, four more than initially planned. Together with three Leopard 2 models from Portugal, this will enable the German-led allies to assemble a battalion of the most advanced tanks for Ukraine. A battalion in Ukraine’s army consists of 31 battle tanks.
It is the latest in a string of announcements on tank deliveries in the days around the one-year mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion, following weeks of hesitation about whether European nations would make good on a promise to put together two Leopard 2 battalions for Ukraine.
Poland has been assembling a coalition of countries to send the older A4 version of the Leopard 2, while Germany is working with allies to supply the modern A6 version.
Sweden has about 120 tanks based on the German Leopard 2 model. Other countries that have pledged to supply Leopard 2s include Portugal, Poland, Finland and Spain, whose prime minister, Pedro Sanchez said in Kyiv Thursday that his government could increase the number of tanks it will ship to Ukraine to 10 from six.
Poland has delivered its first four Leopard 2A4 battle tanks to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced during a visit to Kyiv on Friday. Sweden’s Stridsvagn 122 is based on the Leopard 2A5 model and is intended to fight alongside German 2A6 Leopards.
The Swedish package, its eleventh since Russia’s full-scale invasion, will also include IRIS-T and Hawk air defense missile systems, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Defense Minister Pal Jonson told reporters at a military base in northern Sweden.
“It’s definitely the right way to go to support Ukraine with heavier and more advanced weapons systems,” Jonson said. “That is crucial for Ukrainians to regain their freedom and territorial integrity.”
Previous shipments from Sweden have included anti-tank weapons, air defense systems and armored combat vehicles.
(Updates with Germany to increase number of tanks in third paragraph.)
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