Germany, Croatia vow to supply more tanks to Ukraine

BERLIN

Croatia will supply Ukraine with dozens of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles as part of an agreement with Berlin, the German defense minister announced on Monday.

“Croatia has announced its readiness to deliver 30 main battle tanks and 30 infantry fighting vehicles from its own reserves, the first of which will be handed over to Ukraine before the end of this year,” Boris Pistorius said at a news conference in Berlin.

His remarks came after a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Ivan Anusic.

Pistorius said they have signed a joint declaration of intent on supplying tanks and armored vehicles to Ukraine.

“This support will also include ammunition, and the necessary spare parts packages. For our part, Germany will be facilitating the handover by providing Croatia with financial support,” he said, adding that these funds will be used for Croatia's procurement of advanced Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany.

“Croatia is investing heavily in the modernization of its own armed forces, and I am pleased that you want to procure Leopard 2A8. We are ensuring that production capacities are maintained, also through such procurement decisions, and we are increasingly using the same systems within the NATO alliance. The need for interoperability is clearer to us today than ever before,” he added.

According to the agreement, Croatia will deliver 30 M-84 tanks and 30 M-80 infantry fighting vehicles from its military reserves to Ukraine. The Yugoslav-made tanks and armored vehicles are expected to be rapidly deployed due to their familiarity among Ukrainian forces, who have extensive experience operating similar models.