Finland may increase its military aid to Ukraine by sending Leopard 2 battle tanks, its president said on Thursday.
in Comment made from news agency STTSauli Niinisto said that Finland is also ready to contribute if a European joint defense package of aid for Ukraine is established.
This echoes recent comments by other senior Finnish political figures, such as Defense Minister Mikko Savola. who announced last saturday Finland is preparing its 12th aid package to Ukraine and is considering sending battle tanks. Antti Hakkanen, chairman of the Defense Committee of the Finnish Parliament, has also said that Finland is ready to supply battle tanks to Ukraine, but in a recent interview said that larger NATO countries such as France and Germany should take the lead.
Niinistö also defied expectations: “The number of tanks [to be sent to Ukraine] Can’t be bigger, because Finland borders Russia and isn’t part of NATO.” Finland has about 200 Leopard 2 main battle tanks – one tenth of the total Leopards in Europe.
Certain restrictions have been placed on the re-export of German-made Leopard 2 tanks. Berlin has so far been reluctant to send heavy German weapons to Kyiv, even if it comes from another EU member state, but there may be signs of a softening of its position on the issue.
Polish President Andrzej Duda Told on Wednesday that a Polish “company of Leopard tanks would be transferred to Ukraine as part of international coalition building,” adding that “such a decision is already [taken] in Poland.”
In response to Duda’s comments, German Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister Robert Habeck, who also oversees arms export controls, dismissed concerns That Germany cannot allow this. He added that “Germany should not stand in the way when other countries decide to support Ukraine, regardless of what Germany decides.”
Although Germany is still hesitant to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany should closely coordinate such moves with partners, first and foremost United States,