On Thursday, 23 February, Finland plans to decide how it will participate in the European initiative to supply Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.

According to Yle, this issue will be resolved at a meeting of the Government Council at the request of the president on Thursday. The issue will be considered by the government as a proposal from the Ministry of Defence.

It is assumed in advance that Finland will be involved in the project, either by participating in the maintenance of tanks or by transferring several tanks. The number of tanks that can be transferred will not necessarily be specified in the decision.

Defence Minister Mikko Savola announced at the end of January that Finland would participate in the Leopard project. However, the stakes cannot be high, as Finland has a long land border with Russia, and tanks are also important for Finland's defence.

Finland has about 200 German-made battle tanks at its disposal.

On 20 February, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, spoke about the preparation of a new military aid package for Ukraine and hinted that this week, Finland can make certain decisions regarding its participation in the "tank coalition".