Norway will transfer eight Leopard 2A4NO main battle tanks and up to four special purpose tanks to Ukraine.

The press service of the Ministry of Defense of Norway voiced this.

“It is more crucial than ever to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom, we have decided to transfer 8 tanks and up to 4 special purpose tanks to Ukraine. Several other allied countries have also decided to hand over tanks,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.

The type of special purpose tanks will be agreed with Ukraine. For example, it can be engineering vehicles.

“The decision to provide tanks and special purpose tanks was made after close dialogue both with the Chief of the General Staff and with other European countries,” Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said.

Bjørn Arild Gram also said that Norway will allocate $24.5 million for ammunition and spare parts for Leopard 2 tanks.

Previously, the Minister of Defense said that Norway plans to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as quickly as possible. According to him, this will most likely happen at the end of March.

In addition to tanks, the Norwegian government plans to contribute more to military aid to Ukraine and send infantry fighting vehicles.

Militarnyi reported that the Norwegian Ministry of Defense appealed to the country’s General Staff with a request to consider the possibility of transferring CV90 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

The country is armed with an export version of the CV 9030N family of combat vehicles. It is armed with the Bushmaster II 30mm automatic gun. The country has 164 such infantry fighting vehicles.

Currently, Norway is actively updating its fleet of armored vehicles. Recently, the country ordered 54 new Leopard 2 tanks for its army.

The contract will involve the production of 54 Leopard 2A7 tanks by the German company and the option to order an additional 18 units.