Slovakia to deliver T-72s to kyiv in exchange for armor from Germany, Business Insider reports
Slovakia is set to supply Ukraine with Soviet-made tanks in exchange for receiving a batch of German panzers from Berlin, Business Insider reported Tuesday.
According to government sources in the media, Slovakia will send 30 T-72 tanks to Ukraine in an effort to help kyiv combat Russia’s military offensive. Germany, in turn, will deliver 15 Leopard 2 tanks to Slovakia. The deal will be announced this week and the first batch of weapons should arrive in the Eastern European country by the end of the year.
The swap nearly fell through in June, when the Slovak Defense Ministry said at the time that 15 panzers was too small a replacement.
“Slovakia has 30 T-72 tanks. So 15 Leopard main battle tanks cannot be a solution for us as we need 30 main battle tanks for a tank battalion.a ministry spokeswoman said at the time.
On Tuesday, the Slovak Defense Ministry announced that it would send Ukraine 30 BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles while receiving 15 Leopard 2-A4 tanks from Germany. According to the ministry, the deal also included ammunition, spare parts and complex training. It is unclear if the latest deal is related to the reported tank ring swap.
Earlier, Slovakia donated an S-300 air defense system to kyiv, as well as Soviet-made helicopters and self-propelled howitzers, while hinting it could send MiG-29 fighter jets to kyiv.
Germany has also stepped in to help Ukraine by supplying the kyiv forces with thousands of man-portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, tens of thousands of anti-tank mines, as well as millions of munitions. Berlin also delivered several PzH 2000 howitzers, most of which, however, are now out of service.