Jaroslav Nad, the Minister of Defence of Slovakia, has confirmed the transfer of four Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.

"Slovakia is helping to protect innocent Ukrainian lives! Happy to confirm that the first 4 Zuzana Howitzers are in the hands of Ukrainian armed forces, ready to be deployed in defence against the Russian aggressors," Nad tweeted.

#Slovakia helping to protect innocent Ukrainian lives! Happy to confirm, that first 4 🇸🇰 Zuzana #Howitzers are in the hands of #Ukrainian armed forces ready to be deployed in defence against the Russian aggressors. 🇸🇰🤝🇺🇦 #slavaukraini @oleksiireznikov #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/24vuYPLu5v

— Jaro Nad (@JaroNad) August 13, 2022

On June 2, Ukraine and Slovakia signed a contract for the supply of eight Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers.

The Zuzana 2 is an 8x8 self-propelled gun based on the previous version of Zuzana: 155mm calibre, but with a shorter barrel. In 2018, Slovakia ordered 25 Zuzana 2 units, and the first artillery vehicles were delivered to the Slovak army in July 2021.

They were supposed to replace the previous version (16 Zuzana 1s), increasing the firepower of Slovak artillerymen. The transfer of some of them to Ukraine may affect the Slovak army’s procurement plan.

The price of the units was not stated, but four years ago the Slovak army also bought Zuzana 2s and paid €172 million for 25 units, that is about €7 million each.