Denmark, Netherlands to donate Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

Copenhagen, April 21 (IANS) The Defence Ministers of Denmark and the Netherlands announced the donation of 14 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks to Ukraine.

A joint statement issued by the the Ministers said the two countries intend to jointly acquire, refurbish and deliver, at an estimated cost of 165 million euros ($181 million) "equally divided between the two nations" the tanks from early 2024, reports Xinhua news agency.

"In this way, we will jointly take part in the 'Leopard 2 coalition', supported by many partners and allies," Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark's acting Defence Minister, said in the statement.

The declaration refers to an international tank coalition consisting of "a number of NATO countries" established to donate Leopard 2 and other modern tanks donated by the US, the UK and France.

The Danish government has already received approval from its Foreign Policy Council for the collaboration with the Netherlands, and the acting Defence Minister will now inform the other 50 countries behind the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) of the intended donation when they meet on Friday at Ramstein Airbase in Germany.

"The formal conclusion of the collaboration is of course conditional on grant-related authority being granted from the Finance Committee," the Ministry of Defence press release said.

The announcement follows a decision made in February 2023, when the Danish government entered into a partnership with Germany and the Netherlands to donate at least 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks, the first of which are "expected to be ready for Ukrainian training within the coming weeks", the Ministry added.

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