Finland still to decide on including tanks in aid package for Ukraine

Finland plans to transfer a new package of military aid to Ukraine, but it’s not clear whether it will include Leopards-2 tanks, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto announced during a press briefing on February 13.

“Finland has not yet made a final decision on the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine,” said Haavisto, per The New Voice of Ukraine.

The minister added the government is currently deliberating whether to provide Kyiv with tanks.

“The Finnish government hasn’t yet made a final decision on the supply of Leopards, this issue will be actively discussed by the Finnish authorities,” he added.

“One way or another, we will be part of this initiative, so we constantly maintain a dialogue with Germany, Poland, and other countries.”

In January, Finland sent Kyiv its 12th military aid package, worth about EUR 400 million ($429 million).

Earlier, Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola said that Finland would take part in the supply of tanks to Ukraine, but it’s going to be a small contribution. He also stressed that the country is ready to participate both in the supply of weapons and in training Ukrainian crews to operate and maintain the German-made Leopards.