Finland sends three Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package

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March 23 () –

The Finnish Defense Minister, Antti Kaikkonen, announced Thursday that the new military aid package for Ukraine, the fourteenth since the outbreak of the war, will include three Leopard 2 model battle tanks.

This round of supplies, valued at more than 160 million euros, also includes heavy weapons and ammunition and includes the training of the Ukrainian military in the use and maintenance of the aforementioned battle tanks, collects the YLE public broadcasting.

However, the Finnish authorities have refused to send Hornet model combat aircraft to Ukraine because, according to the Defense Minister, Helsinki will need them “urgently” in the “next years” to guarantee its own defense, according to the newspaper ‘ Helsingin Sanomat’.

During her recent visit to Kiev, Prime Minister Sanna Marin discussed with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky the possibility of supplying these fighter jets, which even motivated Ukraine to convene a trilateral meeting with Finland and the United States.

After securing a commitment from the United States and Germany to supply Western main battle tanks, the Ukrainian authorities have now set fighters as their main demand from allied countries. Poland and Slovakia have confirmed that they will send the MiG-29, although the rest of the powers are currently opposed to taking the step.