Denmark, Netherlands pledge 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine by 'early' 2024

Denmark and the Netherlands will jointly purchase and donate 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine by "early" 2024, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation reported on April 20.

The announcement regarding the 14 Leopard 2 tanks comes after the Danish government already pledged 100 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation wrote.

Acting Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said after a meeting of the Danish Foreign Affairs Council that "at least" 80 Leopard 1 tanks will be transferred to Ukraine by the end of 2023.

Meanwhile, the Leopard 2 tanks are expected to be transferred to Ukraine by "early" 2024.

"We are going to be looking at a long-term conflict, and therefore it is important to give a clear political signal that we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian population and the wishes they have to defend their own country," Poulsen said, as cited by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.

According to Poulsen, this pledge makes Denmark "one of the countries that has donated the most tanks to Ukraine."

Speaking during a joint press briefing with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on April 10, Poulsen said that Denmark was aiming to start supplying Ukraine with Leopard 1 tanks "by the summer."

During the joint press briefing, he had acknowledged there were "not many" Leopard 2 tanks in Denmark but that the country would "consider other possible ways of transmission."

On April 3, Denmark also announced a collaborative effort with Norway to transfer 8,000 rounds of artillery to Ukraine.

According to the Danish Defense Ministry, the artillery shells are intended to be used with the Caesar self-propelled howitzers pledged by Denmark in mid-January. The ammunition is expected to be shipped with the systems, which are likely to arrive in Ukraine "in the next month."