Sweden Has Delivered Ten Stridsvagn 122 Tanks to Ukraine
Ten Stridsvagn 122 combat tanks, improved versions of the Leopard 2, along with trained crews, have already arrived in Ukraine and are carrying out combat missions.
This information was reported by the official website of the Swedish Ministry of Defense.
"We have provided them with everything we could in terms of excellent equipment and knowledge. We wish them all the best and success in liberating their country",- said Mats Ludwig, commander of the operations at the Swedish Armed Forces' Land Forces Headquarters.
The decision to transfer 10 combat tanks was made on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2023. Subsequently, the Swedish Armed Forces' units, led by the Land Forces Headquarters, began training future Ukrainian tank crews.
At the same time, according to the announcement, the training of Ukrainian tank crews was supposed to take place concurrently with the country's largest defense exercises in the last 30 years. Despite this, the training was successful.
"This is something I will remember forever because this training could not have been more real or more important. It had to be high-quality, and it had to be conducted in a very short period of time. You had to show your best game and use all the training tools you had, whether you were training miners or artillerymen",- said one of the instructors who trained Ukrainian tank crews.
It is worth noting that recently, during a meeting of defense ministers from more than 50 countries in the Ramstein format, the Minister of Defense of Sweden, Troels Lund Poulsen, announced the transfer of an additional 45 tanks to Ukraine, including 30 Leopard tanks and 15 Soviet T-72 tanks.
It should be recalled that Denmark also recently announced a 12-package military aid, which is the largest since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, totaling 5.8 billion kroner (833 million US dollars).
"For Ukraine, which continues to defend itself against Russia's illegal invasion, it is extremely important for countries like Denmark to continue providing military and economic support to Ukraine",- said Denmark's Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, at the time.
It is expected that the aid package will be divided into three stages: 617 million will arrive this year, 209 million in 2024, and 7 million in 2025.