According to information.dk website, two Finnish politicians asked their government to send Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine. They want a joint European effort and encourage Denmark to take up the same discussion. The two Finnish politicians Anders Adlercreutz and Atte Harjanne, from the government parties SFP and Grønt Forbund, have joined forces to call on the Finnish government to take up the debate on making Leopard 2A4 tanks available to Ukraine. And the debate should also be held in Denmark and other countries that have Leopard 2 tanks, they believe.
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Leopard 2A4 formerly operated by the Finnish army (Picture source: Wikipedia)
"It is precisely our idea that this should be a joint effort in which several countries participate. In that context, it would be very welcome if the same debate were also held in Denmark,' writes Anders Adlercreutz, member of parliament for the government party SFP, in an e-mail to Information. information.dk reports that, in addition, Atte Harjane, from the Green Association, wrote: "What we need is a joint European effort that includes tanks, training and facilities for maintenance. I also welcome any Danish debate and initiative in this regard.'
information.dk also reports that the two Finnish politicians wrote in the Finnish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet that the West has been too slow to increase donations of heavy military equipment to Ukraine, and that it is time for European countries to discuss the possibility of donating modern Western weapon systems to the Ukrainian army – and especially the modern Leopard 2 tanks: "Thousands of this tank have been built since the late 1970s, and they are used in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Norway, Poland and Finland, among others. It is one of the most used western tanks. In terms of performance, they surpass Russian equipment from the Soviet era. Through a joint European effort, we could, in a way that might be decisive, contribute to Ukraine being able to maintain momentum in the war".
Let us recall that the Finnish army has got 100 Leopard 2A6 MBTs, plus 100 Leopard 2A4 MBTs in store. Finland and the Netherlands agreed to transfer most of the remaining stock of Dutch Leopard 2A6 Main Battle Tanks to Finland over a period of four years, for an amount of around €200 million. Defence Minister Carl Haglund approved the acquisition. Under the agreement, Finland would procure 100 Leopard 2A6 tanks from the Netherlands, along with a logistics package and spare parts sustaining 10 years of operations. The new tanks will be operated in two mechanized battle groups currently operating Leopard 2A4 MBTs and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles.
Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian army has received large quantities of old Soviet equipment such as T-72 tanks from neighboring countries, but this equipment may soon be used up. It is crucial for Ukraine that they get some Western equipment, for which we have plenty of spare parts, and where we know we can secure the supply for a longer period.
Ukraine's Deputy defense minister and former ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, in an interview with the German media RND, called for countries with Leopard 2 tanks to form an alliance and pool their tanks together: "If the German government does not want to be alone with the decision to supply tanks, then Germany could take leadership on the European continent and assemble a European tank alliance". There are a total of approximately 2,000 combat-ready Leopard 2 tanks in Europe, and when you have collected them in a pool, you can donate ten percent to Ukraine, suggests Andriy Melnyk.
information.dk reports that military analyst Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen believes it is a good idea to join forces to donate tanks: "If we can get a pool of tanks, I think it is far better than if individual countries donated because then Putin will have much more difficulty reacting against individual countries. It would also make it possible for Denmark to bid".
Denmark has 44 Leopard 2 tanks. 14 are modernized and ready for battle. They are currently stationed in Estonia. At the Danish People's Party, defense spokesman Alex Ahrendtsen is ready to deliver Danish tanks to Ukraine if they want them: "Ukraine must not only have the Leopard 2 but also modern planes, helicopters and everything they might need to throw the Russians out of the land of the Ukrainians. It is in the interest of the West that the war ends as quickly as possible, and it is in the interest of Ukraine to end the suffering of the Ukrainians".
