Swedish officials did not confirm the “loss” of all the military tanks the Nordic country donated to Ukraine, despite online posts sharing the claim without evidence.
The posts refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Read the latest Reuters reporting on the war.
A post on social media said: “Sweden confirmed the loss of ALL by Leopard 2A5 tanks of the #Swedish modification Strv 122, which were delivered to #Ukraine. Their losses amounted to 10 out of 10 such tanks delivered .” Another post on Facebook includes the same language but adds, “Denazification continues” with a Russian flag emoji.
On Feb. 24, the Swedish government announced that it would donate up to 10 Leopard 2 tanks and HAWK anti-aircraft systems to support Ukraine’s efforts against the Russian invasion.
Johan Hjelmstrand, the press officer for Defence Minister Pal Johnson, said in an email that Sweden donated 10 Leopard 2A5, or Stridsvagn 122, tanks to Ukraine following the announcement. He deferred to the Armed Forces for comment regarding the status of the tanks.
When reached for comment, a Swedish Armed Forces spokesperson said in an email that it had made no statement confirming the loss of all donated tanks but declined to comment further.
There are no reliable reports that all 10 Swedish tanks donated to Ukraine were damaged or otherwise unusable, rendering them a “loss” as claimed online, however.
A Swedish Armed Forces news release on Sept. 21 regarding the Stridsvagn 122 tanks in Ukraine made no mention of any loss of tanks.
On Sept. 23, Forbes reported that Russian drone strikes damaged two of the 10 Swedish tanks belonging to the 21st Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army.
Source : Reuters
