Sweden plans to send Archer artillery system to Ukraine
Sweden promised on Thursday to send its Archer artillery system, a modern mobile howitzer that Kyiv has requested for months, to Ukraine along with armored vehicles and anti-tank missiles.
At a press conference, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his government had agreed on a three-part military support package for Kyiv, including “the first decision to begin deliveries of the Archer artillery system to Ukraine.”
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Sweden, which has broken its doctrine of not supplying weapons to a country at war, will also send 50 CV-90 armored vehicles and NLAW portable anti-tank missiles, the government said.
“Military support is crucial,” Kristersson said, because “it could change who takes the initiative again this winter” on the front in Ukraine.
The indigenously developed Archer artillery system consists of a fully automatic howitzer mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, allowing the gun to be operated remotely by the crew seated in that armored cabin.
Thursday’s decision meant that the Swedish Armed Forces would be tasked with “making preparations to begin delivery of the Archer artillery system to Ukraine.”
Defense Minister Pal Jonson said the government had also asked the armed forces to come back with a recommendation on how many of the archers currently in stock could be sent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday called on Western allies to supply Kyiv with more heavy weapons.
The United States, Kiev’s main backer, is convening a meeting of about 50 countries – including all 30 members of the NATO alliance – at the US-run Ramstein military base in Germany on Friday to discuss military aid to Ukraine.
Britain pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks at the weekend, making it the first Western country to deliver heavy tanks.
The US has also promised to send its Bradley armored fighting vehicles, while France has offered its highly mobile AMX-10 RC – offensive systems long seen as outlawed by skeptical Western countries.
Pressure has also mounted on Germany from European allies to allow the export of its Leopard tank, which is used by several armed forces around the world.
Asked if Sweden would be ready to send some of its Leopard tanks, Jonson told AFP on Monday that the country had “no opposition in principle to sending tanks to Ukraine”, but it would not be part of the next package.
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