Finland Preparing To Supply Ukraine With Leopard 2 Tanks - Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola

Finland is preparing to join a group of countries willing to supply the Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, even though a schedule for possible delivery is yet to be set, Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola said on Wednesday

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2023) Finland is preparing to join a group of countries willing to supply the Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, even though a schedule for possible delivery is yet to be set, Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola said on Wednesday.

"The decision of the international community to transfer Leopard to Ukraine is gaining momentum and Finland is going to take part in this," Savola told a press briefing.

The minister did not specify how Finland was planning to participate in the project, but said that the Finnish defense forces would start the preparations.

Meanwhile, Portugal intends to provide Ukraine with four Leopard 2 tanks, the Correio da Manha newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

Portugal now has 37 Leopard 2 tanks, with 12 of them in working condition, the news outlet added.

Earlier in the day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the government decided to further increase military support for Ukraine and provide it with Leopard 2 battle tanks. German Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit specified that Berlin would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Kiev.

Western countries have ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation there on February 24, 2022, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.