Denmark and Netherlands on Thursday announced they would provide refurbished Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The countries are aiming to supply German-made tanks from the beginning of 2024.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen called it a significant donation which came on top of a contribution by Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, announced in February, to supply at least 100 older Leopard 1 A5 tanks.
In a joint statement, the Danish and Dutch defence ministers said the estimated cost of 165 million euros "to jointly acquire, refurbish and donate" will be equally divided between the two NATO members. “In this way, we will jointly take part in the Leopard 2 coalition, supported by many partners and allies," they said.
In January, Germany agreed to send 14 newer Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its military's current stocks.
Acting Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stressed that the tanks were not Danish but are bought in collaboration with the Netherlands.
“Denmark currently has Leopard 2 A7 tanks which are a different and newer model than the one we are donating now,” Lund Poulsen added.
In a separate statement, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said that having the Leopard 2 A4 main battle tank at its disposal will give Ukraine superiority on the battlefield, due to the tank's major firepower, high level of protection and speed.
“Over the last few weeks, the Ukrainian armed forces have already demonstrated that they are able to master the skills needed to operate the tank in a short amount of time,” she added.
On Twitter, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba wrote that “We are deeply grateful for this contribution.”
Ukraine had been demanding Western countries to provide them with combat vehicles, primarily tanks to strengthen its defence against Russia. Recently, a bloc of Western countries decided to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.
Germany initially was reluctant to provide the tanks as it was worried providing the combat vehicle may be perceived by Russia as its direct involvement in the war. However, later joined the group after the US announced it would provide Abrams tanks to the war-torn country. The United Kingdom had also announced it would provide Challenger tanks to the country and the British Army also trained Ukrainian tank crew in using these combat vehicles.
