The Swiss government agreed to decommission 25 Leopard 2 tanks for resale: can Ukraine get them

Switzerland has taken the first step towards the resale of Leopard 2 tanks to Germany. The country's government supported the decommissioning of 25 such combat vehicles with a view to their further sale to Berlin.

On Wednesday, May 24, the Swiss government approved a proposal to sell back 25 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Germany. The country's Federal Council said in a statement.

“The Federal Council agrees to decommission 25 Leopard 2 main battle tanks. The competent commission of the National Council proposes to decommission these decommissioned tanks and thus enable them to be sold back to the German manufacturer," the government press release says.

Now the Swiss parliament must make such a decision. It is planned that this will happen at the upcoming summer session - in June 2023.

The Swiss government's announcement also noted that the Swiss military currently has 134 German-made Leopard 2 tanks in service and another 96 in storage.

Earlier Switzerland rejected requests from Germany, Denmark and Spain regarding the re-export to Ukraine of acquired Swiss-made military equipment. However, Bern refused them. This issue is sensitive to the Swiss authorities. Under neutrality laws and a separate arms embargo, Switzerland is prohibited from transferring weapons to an active war zone.

However, the resale of Leopard 2 tanks back to Germany to weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall will allow the company to compensate for the gaps in the armament of member countries of the European Union and NATO.

This, in turn, may allow Western countries to send more military aid to Ukraine.

As you know, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Finland and Sweden are among the countries sending Leopard tanks to help Ukraine defend itself against a Russian attack.

As OBOZREVATEL reported:

Switzerland is rethinking its neutrality policy and arms re-export laws amid the war in Ukraine.

Switzerland may move away from neutrality and allow re-export of weapons to Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression. Both politicians and civil society in the country are raising a related topic.

Swiss political circles are discussing the possible sale of Leopard tanks to the countries that supply them to Ukraine. There are many such battle tanks in Switzerland.