(AFP) Sweden said Friday (24) it would deliver “approximately” ten Leopard tanks to Kiev, and Germany announced it would send four more Leopard 2A6s in addition to the 14 already planned to bolster Ukraine’s resistance against Russian invasion.
“We have decided to deliver Leopard 2 tanks,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference.
Defense Minister Pål Jonson added that the country plans to supply “about ten” tanks. “The model we have is called 2A5,” he described.
According to Jonson, this model is similar to those used in Germany.
The heavy tanks, claimed by Ukraine, will be sent under the German coordination group.
The prime minister also announced that Sweden will deliver IRIS-T and HAWK anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.
This promise comes a day after Finland announced the shipment of three of its Leopard tanks.
The head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, has asked his allies to deliver the promised tanks to Kiev, after hesitating to authorize the shipment to Ukraine.
The country finally announced in January the shipment of 14 Leopards.
The new shipment of four tanks announced Friday will allow, in coordination with Portugal and Sweden, the formation of a full battalion of 31 tanks, according to the German Defense Ministry.
Poland also announced on Friday that four of its Leopard 2 tanks had already arrived on Ukrainian territory and that the country will send more tanks “in a few days.”